These days residents have many options for getting around town. With all the motorized scooters, mini-trucks, mini-bikes, golf carts and ATVs on the market, some might worry that city streets are starting to look a little crowded. Cities have authority to regulate many of these new vehicles and decide whether or not to allow them on city streets.
Proponents of mini-vehicles and golf carts often stress improving accessibility and mobility for their users. The US Department of Transportation has put together an extremely comprehensive document on the problems facing seniors and the disabled in maintaining mobility. Golf carts as a potential solution are discussed at page 355 at this link: http://goo.gl/MMC0
In addition, many supporters of mini-vehicles highlight their fuel efficiency and the environmental benefits of their use. Some of these issues were discussed in depth at a recent city of Duluth council meeting at this link: http://goo.gl/waWe
The type of regulation city ordinance may impose depends on the type of vehicle. Cities must permit some use of some types of motorized vehicles on city streets and may permit some others by passing a local ordinance. For some types of vehicles, state statute sets specific ordinance criteria.
Vehicles the City Must Allow:
Cities must allow motorized wheelchair operation, including scooters, tricycles and similar devices used by a disabled person for mobility purposes. Minn. Stat. § 169.212 permits these devices to be operated anywhere a pedestrian may walk and on streets with a speed under 35 mph where a sidewalk is not available or unsafe. Cities may authorize and regulate the use of motorized mobility devices on city streets that have a speed higher than 35 mph by ordinance.
Cities must also allow motorized foot scooters commonly used by teens and children for recreation on city streets. Riders must comply with state requirements for safety at Minn. Stat. § 169.225 and cannot ride on sidewalks. Cities can prohibit the motorized scooters on trails designated for foot traffic only.
Vehicles That May Be Authorized by Local Ordinance:
Cities may authorize and regulate the use of golf carts, smaller ATVs and mini-trucks on city streets. Cities must adopt an ordinance to regulate these vehicles. Without a local ordinance, these vehicles are not permitted on city streets.
When adopting an ordinance permitting one or all of these vehicles, it is important to know that state statute sets criteria that must be in the ordinance. For example, local ordinance must require golf carts operating on streets to display a slow moving vehicle emblem. In addition, cities must require insurance on all three types of vehicles.
These statutory requirements can be found at Minn. Stat. § 169.045. In addition, LMC has a model ordinance for these vehicles that meets the state law requirements. This model ordinance can be found in the Appendix of the LMC memo “Special Vehicles Operating on City Streets” at this link: http://www.lmc.org/media/document/1/special_vehicles.pdf
Finally, it is important to note that city ordinance will only apply to city streets. State and county streets will continue to be governed by regulations adopted by those governing bodies.
Conclusion:
Additional in-depth help on researching this topic can be found in the LMC memo “Special Vehicles Operating on City Streets” mentioned above. Since the many types of vehicles available and terminology to describe them can be confusing, the LMC memo includes pictures for ease of reference. Minnesota House Research also has a helpful memo titled “Motorized Scooters and Other Low-Power Vehicles” at: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/scooter.pdf
Photo courtesy of the National Archives on Flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationaalarchief/4192749411/sizes/s/in/photostream/
Do you have any information on how many cities or towns in MN have passed ordinances allowing these types of vehicles? I write a blog (http://smallvehicles.wordpress.com) about these vehicles and every couple of months cover what municipalities are doing in terms of these type of ordinances.
ReplyDeleteMarc - LMC doesn't formally track this type of data from our member cities. At least for mini-trucks, I believe authorization is fairly rare. The state law authorizing cities to permit them was only passed last year. The article linked in the entry about the City of Duluth indicates that we really only know of a few cities who've passed ordinances allowing mini-trucks.
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