End of the road for golf cart proposal

A resident-spurred effort to legalize golf carts on Libby’s streets broke down last week.

The proposed ordinance made it as far as the Libby City Council agenda. When it came up during the body’s Oct. 19 meeting, it failed to garner a motion for adoption.

Typically, an item up for action before the board needs a motion and a second to allow for discussion. Following a debate, city councilors will vote the measure up, down or table it for further review.

Without a motion, though, the golf cart proposal died ignominiously on the floor.

The council’s ordinance subcommittee took up the issue earlier this year at the behest of several residents who wanted to make it easier for those with handicaps to travel around Libby. The subcommittee generated a rough draft in late September, which would have heavily restricted where, when and how a golf cart might traverse Libby’s roadways.

Among the restrictions, carts would have remained banned from U.S. Highway 2, state Highway 37 and Mineral Avenue. They would have had to boast a number of safety features, including headlamps, stop lamps, reflectors and mirrors, among others.

Drivers, under the ordinance, would need to register the cart with the state and procure liability insurance.

The vehicles would have remained banned from areas where motor vehicles are restricted, like city sidewalks, and multi-use pathways. Violations of the ordinance were to be penalized with a misdemeanor charge and a possible fine as a high as $500.

Introducing the proposed language in late September, Williams said the subcommittee had done as much as it could with the ordinance, telling her colleagues, “It just needs to come to council.”

During the Oct. 19 meeting, City Attorney Dean Chisholm, who reviewed the language, gave the ordinance tepid support.

“If we were going to do something like this, then this is the best we can do,” he told city council via teleconferencing software.

Silence reigned after Mayor Brent Teske brought the proposal to the floor. After a few heartbeats, he declared the measure dead.