Life In The Slow Lane

WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg City Council last week passed a law that may have appeared limited in its applicability to Mayor Walt Gobel who enjoys getting around town using a different mode of transportation.

But there are others who say they'll take advantage of a new ordinance allowing the use of golf carts on city streets. WP football coach and PE teacher Jeff Bartlow, for one, is a big fan. "I'll use mine for a lot of things now that I can," said Bartlow, who bought a used golf cart - read: a very well-used one - partly because he learned a new ordinance was in the works for their legal use around town. At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the council unanimously approved ordinance 2010-968 adding a new chapter to the Waitsburg Municipal Code to regulate the use of golf carts within

L ane city limits. In the new chapter, a golf cart is defined as "a motorized vehicle with three or four wheels that is not designed to be operated at a speed of more than 25 miles per hour and whose purpose can include, but not be limited

to, the playing of golf and as a means of ordinary transportation, and is generally designed to carry two people including the driver." To be legal, the cart can only be operated during daylight hours by someone who has a driver's license unless the vehicle has proper lighting. Use of the carts on the sidewalk will now be prohib( ited. Operators can use hand signals to indicate turns. State legislators recently passed a law allowing Washington cities and counties to create "golf cart zones" around golf courses and permit incidental use on public roads that have speed limits of 25 miles per hour or less. The Waitsburg ordinance was the brainchild of the new mayor, who owns one and has used it on city sidewalks. He said it can help residents save fuel and focus on cleaner energy. Bartlow bought his two-seater, 1974, three-wheeler Harley Davidson for $350 this summer, though it needed

a ton of work. As the would-be "sport games utility vehicle," it quickly became a community project with volunteers adding a rack to haul sports equipment, cleaning up the battery, and painting it in the WP red, white and blue colors. The Bartlows also had the seats reupholstered. The overhaul, which cost about $300, took a week and a half. "It will be great for putting stuff away," said Bartlow, who covers a lot of territory between the schools and the football field. "Now I can say I got a Harley."