CLINTON — During a week when the Clinton City Council placed on file an ordinance possibly to allow golf carts on city streets, the county’s public safety committee decided they would not be permitted on county roads.

On July 20, the Clinton City Council voted to file an ordinance allowing the use of golf carts on Clinton streets.  The council likely will vote on the ordinance at its first meeting in August.

Three days later, Lance Reece, chairman of the county board’s public safety committee, announced his committee decided not to pursue a similar provision to allow the carts on county roadways.

DeWitt County Sheriff Mike Walker and county engineer Mark Mathon met earlier with the public safety committee.

“We were informed that state statutes basically prevent golf carts from being on any road that has any more than a 35 mph speed limit,” Reece told county board members on July 23.

Reece said those who met also had safety concerns about the operation of golf carts on county roads where curves and hills were present.

He said the committee would not pursue permitting golf carts on county road’s unless state legislation lowered the speed limit on those roads from 55 mph to 35.  Most county roadways have an unposted speed limit of 55 mph.

“And, then, of course, they would have to be posted as such, which would be a sizable amount of money for signs and labor to get that done,” Reece said.

“It was the consensus that golf carts would not be approved for use on county roads at this time.”

The State of Illinois does not license golf carts nor does it permit them to operate on state roadways.