Wichita passed new rules for golf carts on city streets. Here’s what you can & can’t do

Wichita now has one of the more restrictive ordinances in Kansas for golf carts on public streets.

It will allow their use only on streets with posted speed limits of 30 mph or less.

State statute already prohibits the use of golf carts on highways and arterial streets. Wichita also will prohibit their use in the core area — downtown, Old Town and Delano — as well as on sidewalks and walking and bike paths.

To operate a golf cart, drivers must have a valid driver’s license and be at least 18 years old. Wichita is one of the only cities in the state that has an age restriction on operating golf carts.

“There are stipulations where we would like to be able to hold the owner … accountable for violations that do occur involving drivers of that particular golf cart,” Wichita Police Capt. Jason Stephens said.

Golf carts used on city streets must be registered with the city, a $75 fee, and have a slow-moving-vehicle emblem on the back.

As part of the new ordinance, golf carts can only be driven during the daytime.

The new ordinance passed on a 4-3 vote Tuesday.

Council members Brandon Johnson, Maggie Ballard, and Becky Tuttle voted against the ordinance.

Council member J.V. Johnston supported it, saying the lack of regulation for golf carts has been an issue in his district.

“If we don’t define where you can do it, the police need to write tickets to people that are on the streets,” Johnston said. “We’ll have people still calling, want the police to come out time and time and time again, which has happened, to ticket these people. And right now, we’re not ticketing them.”

Tuttle said the more restrictive ordinance is a distraction for the Wichita Police Department, the agency that would issue tickets if people violate the new ordinance.

“So adding an unnecessary burden, such as now asking police to monitor golf carts. Are they licensed? Do they have a sticker and they have to pull them over,” Tuttle said. “What we need to be focusing on is actual crime prevention.”

The new ordinance does not apply to Gators, ATVs, or microtrucks, but state statute prohibits their use on highways and arterial streets.

It also provides exemptions for community events and golf courses.

People found in violation of the new ordinance will face a $500 fine.

Other area cities have recently passed their own ordinances regulating golf cart and ATV use, including Derby.

Derby’s city ordinance allows for golf carts to be driven on city streets with a posted speed limit of 30 mph or less, much like Wichita.

This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 12:31 PM.