Drivers share roads with bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles, but in Lake Mills, Iowa, drivers could soon be sharing the road with another vehicle: golf carts.

The Lake Mills utility and finance committees are reviewing a draft of an ordinance many think would best fit Lake Mills, said Lake Mills Police Chief Dave Thomas.

Thomas said the ordinance could be approved at the City Council meeting on Aug. 17, and Thomas said he expects the ordinance to pass in the future.

“There will be a few restrictions, but above and beyond that, I think that we’ll be able to come up with something that is amicable for everybody,” Thomas said.

After some citizens saw similar ordinances in other Iowa cities such as Forest City and Algona, they brought the possibility to the council members July 20, Thomas said.

Members of the public spoke at the City Council meeting July 20, and ordinances from other cities were handed out.

“I talked to both the police chiefs there, and they had said there hadn’t really had any problems,” Thomas said. He said about 40 golf carts are registered in Forest City and Algona.

Golf carts could serve as a good way for older residents to travel in town, and Thomas said some people see golf carts as a green alternative to cars, especially when running errands in town.

“We truly don’t expect that this is going to be a huge issue for the city. We’re going to set down clear-cut rules and regulations,” Thomas said.

One of those rules is that golf carts cannot be operated on a highway. U.S. Highway 69 passes through Lake Mills.

State code allows golf carts to be used in towns, but the city can decide on some details in the ordinance, Thomas said.

The state code does set specific safety guidelines for golf carts, Thomas said. For example, a golf cart must have a 5-foot bicycle flag and a slow-moving vehicle sign. Golf carts can only be operated from sunrise to sunset.

The potential Lake Mills ordinance stipulates that the golf carts are only allowed on roads April 1 though Nov. 1, and golf carts will not be permitted in the winter, Thomas said.

The golf carts will operate on the roads with traffic.

“It will look like a golf cart driving down the center of the travel portion,” Thomas said. “We don’t want them to be off on the side. We want them to be in the main flow. They are going to act as motor vehicles.”

Thomas said if citizens drove golf carts on the side of the road or in parking lanes, cars would pass the golf carts more often, which could potentially cause an accident.

Drivers should have few problems sharing the road with golf carts because drivers already share the road with bicycles and other smaller vehicles, Thomas said.

“I think that anytime we put smaller vehicles onto the road, there’s always that problem of being able to see them. But we still deal with smaller vehicles everyday, day in and day out. We deal with mopeds. We deal with motorcycles,” Thomas said.

Only licensed drivers will be allowed to drive the golf carts, Thomas said.

“As long as our people adhere to that ordinance and no one’s letting 10-year-olds out in these carts, I truly don’t think we’re going to have a problem, because we’re going to have experienced drivers,” Thomas said.

All-terrain vehicles will not be allowed in Lake Mills, and the ordinance will include a description of a golf cart so this stipulation is followed, Thomas said.

“I think it’s going to be good for Lake Mills. Like I said, we’ve polled other towns, and they haven’t seemed to have been an issue. I can’t imagine why it’s going to hurt us in any way,” Thomas said.