Yorkville Bans Golf Carts From Public Roads and Sidewalks

Last week, the Yorkville City Council banned golf carts from public roads and sidewalks.

According to a memo from the City Administrator, a Yorkville police officer wrote a ticket to a citizen for using a golf cart within the Countryside subdivision common areas several months ago. The Countryside common areas are owned by the city, but the ticket was thrown out because the ordinance addressing vehicles on public property only applied to vehicles in parks.

The disabled resident who was cited claimed that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) allowed him to use his golf cart on public property. The city attorney said the ADA does not require the city to make allowances that would put the public at risk.

"Park walkways and thoroughfares cannot be deemed to be safe to pedestrians, runners and bikers when competing with a motorized vehicle much greater in size and weighing as much as 1000 pounds," City Attorney Kathy Orr said in a letter on the issue.

"We realized that the current loophole in the code that would allow someone in a golf cart to drive back and forth across the City Hall front lawn should be closed," City Administrator Bart Olson said in a memo.

The new ordinance prohibits golf carts, all-terrain vehicles and other off-road vehicles from being used on public roads, sidewalks, bike paths, parkways and city property.

Photo by Ravi Shah via Flickr (https://creativecommons.org/li...)