City OKs carts and ATVs on roads

Motorists will soon have to look out for the “little guys” in Electric City.

The city council voted to move ahead to allow all-terrain vehicles and golf carts to move about the city streets, legally.

It was too bad for motorized scooters, they will have to wait their turn. The council decided to delay making a decision on the motorized scooters until it sees how the others are working out.

The golf carts and ATVs will have to be road worthy with all the requirements that a normal vehicle has.

The golf carts will need front lights, tail and brake lights, mirrors, legal windshield, a spark arrester and muffler, licensing, turn signals, and nearly all the equipment you have on your car.

Still, there has been a lot of interest in legalizing golf carts and ATVs since Birdie Hensley, former council member, introduced the idea a few years ago.

Originally, the city had decided to wait and see how the use of golf carts and ATVs was working out in places like Wilbur and Moses Lake.

The issue caught fire last Tuesday night after Councilmember Aaron Derr said he was willing to move ahead.

Grand Coulee Police Sgt. Gary Moore, who was at the meeting to report on police activity in the city, was more hesitant and had several questions.

The city’s attorney had raised the question of enforcement, that maybe there wasn’t enough police coverage in the city to enforce the issue.