More golf carts leaving greens

— -- When Richard Fisher wants to meet friends for a cup of coffee, go to the grocery store or watch his grandkids play ball, he hops in his golf cart and zips off along the streets of Summitville, Ind.

The Central Indiana community of 1,100 is one of a growing number across the USA that have begun allowing golf carts on its streets in the past year.

"I'm saving money and wear and tear on my car," said Fisher, 82, whose cart is tricked out with seat belts, a boombox, flashing hazard light and wheel-rim spinners. A USA TODAY review found that in the past year, as gas prices surged past $4 a gallon, dozens of communities, — including Danforth, Ill.; Pulaski, Va.; Conover, N.C.; Osseo, Minn.; and Loveland, Colo. — have passed or debated ordinances to allow golf carts on local streets.

Most recently Winchester, Ind., approved an ordinance on July 7. Sandusky, Ohio, passed an ordinance last month that takes effect Wednesday.

"Gas prices were certainly a factor," said Dennis Murray, president of the Sandusky City Commission.

"Gas prices are the driving factor for most of the folks who are using golf carts here," said Summitville Police Chief Tony Hendrick. "But we needed an ordinance so we could regulate their use and safety."

The Danforth, Ill., ordinance went into effect in June. Council president Arnold Hess said officials in the community of about 500 were following the lead of Ashkum and Crescent City, neighboring Iroquois County towns that adopted ordinances this year.

Although gas costs were a factor, convenience was another reason many of the community's older residents wanted to use golf carts.

"Its easier to get into a golf cart that a car or truck," Hess said.

Not every community that has considered allowing golf carts on local streets has chosen to do so.

Bloomfield, Ind., decided to continue its golf cart ban in June, said Town Clerk Sondra Thompson. Last August, Salina, Kan., voted to ban golf carts from local streets, citing safety concerns, according to Nick Hernandez, the city's management assistant. Last July, the Collier County (Fla.) Commission turned down a request to make carts legal on the streets of the Isles of Capri, according to Kirk Colvin, president of the Isles of Capri Civic Association.