South Carolina

Hilton Head residents: Go-kart track tacky like Myrtle Beach

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Some neighbors living near a proposed go-kart track on Hilton Head Island say it's a tacky idea that turns their island closer to something like Myrtle Beach.

The town's zoning board approved the track last month, saying there is nothing in the rules against it. The Island Packet of Hilton Head reported the Town Council reviewed the decision Tuesday and let it stand, allowing the property owner to apply to the town's design review board and start construction.

The track with electric go karts, which the owner said are quieter than gas powered vehicles, will be built at Aerial Adventure Park.

The park already has a zip line, which is noisy enough, said Judi Shade, who lives in Indigo Run, a gated community near the site.

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"These may be noise-neutral activities, but the people who are on those activities are not noise neutral," she said. "Just park your car and listen to the enjoyable screeching coming from those on the zip line."

Other neighbors said vacationers know the upscale experience they are getting when they come to Hilton Head Island and none of them have ever complained there wasn't a go kart track.

Another neighbor Janice Turkish told Town Council they were on a slippery slope that would likely lead to a waterpark and an experience more like South Carolina's louder, brasher beach to the north.

"I didn't move to Myrtle Beach for a reason. That's why I moved here," Turkish said.

But not all 15 of the people who spoke to Town Council about the track were against it.

Mary Navis said the track isn't just for tourists, but gives people on the island like her five grandchildren more choices for fun,

"The options for birthday parties were mini-golf or driving to Savannah for Chuck E. Cheese," Navis said. "I cannot think of anything that would be more enjoyable for everyone than an electric go kart track. There's no place on this island where they could have had more fun."