By Jeremy Scott | OurSumter.org | October 18, 2026
Golf-cart lanes will be widened along a busy section of Morse Boulevard. The project has county approval, but questions remain about safety, funding, and long-term maintenance.
Sumter County commissioners have approved an agreement to move forward with a $1.5 million safety project on Morse Boulevard in The Villages.
The decision came during the October 13, 2026, Board of County Commissioners meeting.
The project focuses on Morse Boulevard north of County Road 466, where golf carts travel beside regular vehicle traffic.
The goal is simple: Give golf-cart drivers more room and make the road safer.
But after years of studies and debate, one question remains.
Will wider lanes be enough to prevent serious crashes?
What will change?
The approved plan calls for:
- Widening golf-cart lanes by two feet on each side of Morse Boulevard.
- Adding a buffer between golf carts and vehicle traffic.
- Keeping golf carts alongside the roadway rather than moving them onto separate paths.
The Amenity Authority Committee (AAC) voted 4–2 in September to support the project.
Sumter County owns and maintains the road, so county approval was necessary before the project could move forward.
An engineering design contract is still expected to receive further consideration.
The county’s approval does not mean construction has started.
Why is this road a safety concern?
According to crash information presented by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office during earlier discussions, there were 15 reported crashes along this section of Morse Boulevard in 2025.
Ten involved golf carts.
One crash was fatal and involved a golf cart striking a pedestrian.
Those numbers help explain why residents have pushed for improvements.
An earlier engineering study also examined ways to separate golf carts from vehicle traffic, particularly at intersections where turning movements create additional risks.
A bigger safety plan was considered
The current $1.5 million project is not the most extensive option studied.
An earlier proposal would have moved golf carts away from the main roadway at many intersections, reducing some of the points where carts and cars cross paths.
That approach was more expensive.
A 2023 study examined alternatives estimated at roughly $12 million to $15 million. Later discussions considered a reduced-scope plan, but the AAC ultimately chose the less costly lane-widening option.
The difference matters.
Wider lanes may provide more room for golf carts. However, widening alone does not eliminate conflicts where vehicles and golf carts turn or cross paths.
Commissioner Deb Butterfield, who supported moving the project forward, has also expressed concern that widening alone is not the best solution.
Who is paying?
The estimated $1.5 million will come from funds controlled by the Amenity Authority Committee.
Those funds originated from a settlement involving The Villages developer.
This means the project is not being funded through a newly announced $1.5 million county construction appropriation.
However, the county owns and maintains Morse Boulevard.
That raises an important long-term question: Who will pay to maintain the wider lanes and buffers after construction?
The public should be able to review the agreement and understand which government or district is responsible for future costs.
What should residents ask next?
OurSumter believes several questions deserve clear answers:
- What is the final engineering design, and when will construction begin?
- What is the full project cost, including design, construction, and any future changes?
- Will the improvements address the intersections where many crashes occur?
- What maintenance costs will Sumter County assume?
- How will officials measure whether the project actually reduces crashes?
The last question is especially important.
A road project should be judged by more than whether construction is completed on time and within budget.
It should also be judged by whether people are safer afterward.
The bottom line
Moving forward with safety improvements on Morse Boulevard is a positive step.
Residents have raised concerns for years, and the crash history shows why those concerns deserve attention.
But spending $1.5 million should come with a clear explanation of what the improvements will accomplish — and what risks may remain.
The county and the AAC should make the final design, project costs, maintenance responsibilities, and future safety results available to the public.
OurSumter will continue following the project as it moves from approval toward construction.
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