The Peachtree City Council declined a citizen’s request Thursday to allow utility vehicles such as his to be used on the city’s golf cart path.

Peachtree City resident Ted Taylor said he didn’t see any difference between his Kawasaki Mule and the other low-speed motor vehicles allowed on the cart path. The Mule can go up to 25 mph just like the electric GEM Car.

City Attorney Ted Meeker said low-speed motor vehicles such as the GEM Car have to meet certain federal standards including the use of an electric engine, and the Mule vehicle doesn’t qualify under those guidelines. The Mule is powered by a diesel engine.

Taylor’s Mule is a four-seater with a flatbed in the back for hauling materials.

Meeker said, though he doesn’t live in Peachtree City, he has a Kawasaki Mule that he uses on his property, so he is very familiar with how the vehicle is operated. Staff’s recommendation was to keep utility vehicles such as the Mule off the cart path system.

Meeker said he also didn’t want to open the door for three or four-wheel all-terrain vehicles to be used on the cart path because of the potential “safety issue” that would create.

In addition to golf carts and low-speed motor vehicles, the path is also populated by walkers, joggers, runners and those on bikes, skates and the like.

Taylor admitted that he tried to register the vehicle at City Hall after he spoke with a city employee who told him the cart was not allowed on the path system under current regulations. Taylor convinced another employee to give him a golf cart decal for the vehicle, but city officials since contacted him saying it was a mistake, and they have asked Taylor to return the decal to City Hall for a refund of his registration payment.

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