Elburn will not allow golf carts on public roads

It’s official. Elburn will not become a golf cart community. A recent “no”vote by the village board was unanimous.

Although there was no additional discussion about the ordinance at the meeting in June when the vote was taken, Trustee Chris Hansen wanted to show his appreciation for all the work on everyone’s part to explore the possibilities.

Hansen said he’d “like to applaud” local resident Melissa Bollivar and “everybody else that was involved, getting out, having discussions and showing up at meetings. It was very impressive.”

A vote on the ordinance was proposed at the April 7 Village Board meeting. When one of the trustees made the motion, no one responded with a second, letting the motion die. However, Village President Jeff Walter said that the issue had not been settled, and so it was brought before this board, with three new members.

The possibility of allowing golf carts on the streets of Elburn has been a topic of board discussion since November. Bollivar brought to the village a petition with 582 signatures in favor of making Elburn a golf cart community. She and Main Street Golf Car owners Beth and Bob Simmons attended a number of subsequent board meetings to inform village officials about the concept.

Police Chief Nick Sikora conducted research and interviewed chiefs around the state. He received various examples of ordinances and municipal liability waivers of the village’s liability and drafted several versions of both for the board to review.

The Illinois law that addresses the use of golf carts and other vehicles not specifically designed for public roads states that it may occur only if “the unit of government determines that the public safety will not be jeopardized.” The statute further states that before making this determination, a community must consider the volume and speed of of traffic and the character of the roadways.

Trustee Luis Santoyo said he didn’t think the village could meet the burden of determining public safety would not be jeopardized without additional due diligence, such as traffic studies. Sikora said that would cost money that is not in the village’s budget.

Several obstacles were identified in implementing an ordinance allowing golf carts on Elburn’s roads, most of which led back to concerns for the public safety as well as potential village liability. State law already prohibits their use on state highways and roadways with a speed limit of more than 35 mph. This would eliminate Routes 47 and 38, as well as Hughes and Keslinger roads. Trustees also agreed that it was not safe for golf carts to cross these roads, further restricting where people could drive them.

Sikora said that no residents would be able to drive their golf carts to Jewel, and only a very small number of people – those west of Route 47 on Nebraska Street – would be able to drive to Ream’s or Alice’s. For the most part, residents would be restricted to driving within their subdivisions or neighborhoods, and at least some of the trustees did not think that people would end up following these and other restrictions. Sikora said that other communities said even getting everyone to register their vehicles has been a problem.

Sikora said that people don’t always take driving a golf cart on a roadway seriously enough. According to the statute, the same laws that apply to drivers of other vehicles also apply to those of golf carts when driven on public roadways, including the age restriction, obtaining a driver’s license, requirement of insurance and open alcohol in the vehicle.

“Their attitude is that it’s just a golf cart,” Sikora said.

Sikora said that police chiefs of smaller towns, with less than 1,000 people, reported they have had no incidences of crashes or public safety problems, but some of the larger towns reported serious injuries, collisions involving either a single golf cart or with another vehicle and people disregarding the rules.

In addition to the public safety concerns, the village would also need to consider its liability. Samples of other community’s waivers that the residents were required to sign relieving their municipalities of liability for injury or property damage were often quite graphic of the various situations that could possibly happen. However, as the Village Attorney Bill Thomas warned, “that doesn’t guarantee that the village would not end up in court.”

Walter later said he would also like to thank those who participated in the process.

“This is how local government works at its best: engaged citizens bring forward ideas, and those ideas are given thoughtful consideration by the Village Board,” he said. “While the final decision may not always align with every viewpoint, every proposal deserves – and receives – its moment to be heard. That open dialogue is a cornerstone of good governance.”