Bluffton, Indiana
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The legislature has given Indiana cities and towns permission to allow golf carts on their streets and highways, effective July 1. Bluffton Common Council members will be considering options next month.
City Attorney Andrew Carnall told council members Tuesday night that the Indiana General Assembly, in House Enrolled Act 1483, has exempted golf carts from rules that have that have kept them off of city streets. As a result, the council must decide whether to give the green light to the electric slow-speed vehicles.
The issue had come up before, in Bluffton and in front of other city and town councils throughout the state. When gasoline was at $4 a gallon, which was the status about a year ago, many Hoosiers wanted to take their golf carts out for errands — and some municipalities passed ordinances allowing them to do so. However, the Indiana State Police said that any vehicle on a public road must be licensed, must have headlights and windshields, and must follow other requirements set forth by state law.
The legislature specifically removed golf carts from those requirements, however. If an Indiana city or town approves legislation, golf carts can legally be operated on city streets.
Carnall said he would research potential ordinances and would get back to council members at their June 2 meeting.
Council members realize they would have a decision to make.
“Give it some thought,” Mayor Ted Ellis said.
“You’d want to have something in place by July 1, definitely,” Carnall said.
Council member Bette Erxleben wondered if cars would be held up by golf carts on Main Street, which is Ind. 1. She also wondered if flashing lights could be required on top of them; Ellis wondered about requiring the 10-foot-tall “bicycle flags” that help call attention to slow-moving vehicles.
“I’ve had people say to me that on Main Street, it’s probably not appropriate,” council member Michael Morrissey said.
Ellis said he knows that some of the people who have asked about using golf carts in city streets are aware of the new legislation, and he expects them to return to an upcoming council meeting to press their case.
daves@news-banner.com
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