True about Sandestin but Sandestin is a poor example. You're talking apples and oranges. Sandestin is like a theme park all contained in a little bubble. The planners of that community designed it such that 45MPH would be entirely inappropriate. What's the speed limit there? I think 17MPH. As such- LSV's are legal there and make all the sense in the world.
SD is no different than the stretches of 98 that run through Rosemary, Ally's, Seaside and Watercolor, Grayton, Seagrove, Dune Allen, ..... In these areas speed limits have already dropped. Isn't 30A @ 25mph in at least one part already? I look at 30A and I see a road much like Scenic 98. In time, the speed limit on most of 30A will come down.
The reason I believe you are wrong is because the most rural parts of 30A (which have the posted 45MPH speed limit) have state/protected land on one or both sides of the roadway. Correct me if that isn't true. For fun- let's say all that land is privately owned and will be developed. At that time my argument would certainly change and I would see the need to lower the speed limit. And at that time- LSV's would be legal. Until then- .
True, but I think it's a loss for the area. It's really pretty sad that you can't get around parts of 30A without firing up the gas guzzling Tahoe. The whole area really lends itself toward alternative, community oriented, and more fuel efficient forms of transportation. Anyway, I don't live down there at this point, so I really don't care much one way or the other.
One thing that keeps getting ignored by the pro - LSV and pro-golf cart crowd is that even if we were to lower the speed limit, they still cannot physically go that speed.
15-20 mph is the realistic maximum speed for most LSVs.
It's higher than that, probably 25mph or a little bit more if they're fully charged. Still slower than a car and without the acceleration capability. (I get "stuck" behind them in SD and have to slow down a bit.) Alternatively we could figure out how to make room for them without having them in the main road.