After many meetings, discussions and conferences on the subject over a number of years, the Bellefontaine City Council is now considering an ordinance that will define and regulate the use of golf carts and other low-speed, under-speed, utility vehicles and mini-trucks on the city’s streets.

On the first reading of the ordinance Tuesday, June 23, council members Wes Easton and Mick Lile each voted “no” on the measure.

The final vote on the first reading was 4-2 in favor, as Council Member Jordan Reser was excused from the meeting.

Bellefontaine resident and former City Law Director Howard Traul  spoke during the citizen comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting to express concerns about the ordinance. He noted that the measure would permit golf cart-type vehicles that are governed at a max speed of 25 mph to drive on streets that have 35 mph speed limits.

He cited south Main Street – which has a 35 mph limit all the way from Auburn Avenue to the city’s southern limits – as a stretch of road that would likely encounter to a host of problems caused by these low- and under-speed vehicles.

“The police have many better things to do than investigate golf cart accidents,” Traul told the council.

Council Member Easton agreed with Traul’s assessment, noting the allowing the use of low-speed mini-vehicles on busy thoroughfares at this point is premature, noting that the ordinance does not address the use of lawn mowers and other slow-moving vehicles. 

“To me, I just would like to maybe see a little bit different language there,” Easton said of the ordinance following the meeting. “I want to make sure it's the right decision for everybody in the community, not just the folks with a golf cart.”