Aledo city limits
Aledo golf cart ordinance: what the adopted rules say. Carts on public streets posted 35 mph or less, with a plate, lamps, insurance and a licensed driver; helmets under 17 on bicycles and e-bikes (2026-O-24 and 2026-O-25)
Both ordinances passed by unanimous vote on Sept. 17, 2026 and add Article V, Vehicles, to Chapter 77 of the municipal code; ATVs, utility vehicles and recreational off-highway vehicles stay off streets and sidewalks, and a parent answers for a child's violation.
Published Sunday, September 27, 2026, by The Aledo Ledger. Publisher: Christopher Weaver.
Where a cart may go. Ordinance 2026-O-24 permits golf carts on a public street, defined as a public roadway with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less, no more than two lanes per direction, and not part of the state or federal highway system or the farm to market road system; a cart may cross an intersection where the cross street is posted higher. Carts are prohibited on roadways or highways in the state or federal highway system or the farm to market road system. The ordinance names no individual streets.
What a cart needs. Citing Texas Transportation Code 551.402, 551.4041, 601.051 and 521.021, the ordinance requires a license plate issued by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles; two working head lamps and two working tail lamps; reflectors, two front in amber and two rear in red; an operational parking brake; mirrors; a slow moving vehicle emblem on the rear; proof of financial responsibility (proof of insurance on the golf cart); and an operator with a valid driver's license. A golf cart is defined as a gas or electric vehicle designed primarily for use on a golf course with an attainable top speed of not greater than 25 mph; ATVs and neighborhood electric vehicles are excluded from the definition.
Who rides. Occupants are limited to the manufacturer's seating capacity; all must remain seated while the cart is in motion and use any seatbelts the manufacturer installed; no one rides in a lap, shares a seat or is held by another person.
What stays off the street. All-terrain vehicles, off-highway vehicles, pocket bikes, mini motorbikes, recreational off-highway vehicles and utility vehicles are prohibited from operating on highways, roadways, sidewalks or public streets within the city limits. Vehicles operated for official city business are exempt.
Bicycles and e-bikes. Ordinance 2026-O-25 adds Section 77-77. Bicycles and e-bikes are to be operated on a highway, roadway or public property during daytime hours unless equipped with a white front lamp visible from at least 500 feet and a red rear reflector visible from 50 to 300 feet in upper beams or a red rear lamp visible from 500 feet; riders obey the state Rules of the Road and yield to pedestrians, slowing and giving a verbal or audible warning before passing. Children under 17 must wear a helmet when operating a bicycle or micromobility device. An electric bicycle is one with fully operable pedals and a motor of fewer than 750 watts with a top assisted speed of 28 mph or less, in Classes 1, 2 and 3 as state law defines them; every e-bike must display the manufacturer's sticker stating class, top assisted speed and wattage; a Class 3 must have a speedometer, and its operator must be at least 15, per Transportation Code 551.107(c).
Parents. It is unlawful for a parent or guardian to allow a child to operate a bicycle or e-bike on a highway, roadway or public property in violation of the section, or without a helmet; the ordinance presumes a parent allowed the child's riding, and places the responsibility for a child's violation on the parent as a misdemeanor.
Penalties and effective date. Each ordinance makes a violation a misdemeanor fined for each offense as provided in Section 1-10 of the Aledo Municipal Code, each day a separate offense; neither states a dollar amount. Each is in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as required by law, per Section 8; the Ledger has not seen the publication notice.
What is next. The Oct. 1, 2026 council agenda carries Ordinance 2026-O-28, removing the prohibition of class 1 E-bikes on paved and unpaved trails in alignment with the Weatherford Mountain Biking Club's established trail rules, as item 8b. The Ledger's plain-language guide with the questions readers ask is at /answers/golf-carts-and-e-bikes/ and the tracker at /trackers/golf-carts-and-e-bikes/.
Sources: City of Aledo: Ordinance No. 2026-O-24 and the police chief's memo, pages 76 to 84 of the Sept. 17, 2026 packet (CivicClerk), read Sept. 27; City of Aledo: Ordinance No. 2026-O-25 and the police chief's memo, pages 85 to 91 of the Sept. 17, 2026 packet (CivicClerk), read Sept. 27; City of Aledo: minutes of the Sept. 17, 2026 meeting, pages 5 to 8 of the Oct. 1 packet (CivicClerk); City of Aledo: agenda, Oct. 1, 2026 Regular City Council Meeting, item 8b (CivicClerk), read Sept. 27
How this was sourced: Primary documents: the two ordinances as attached to the Sept. 17, 2026 packet, which the minutes record as approved as presented, and the Sept. 17 minutes in the Oct. 1 packet, all on the city's CivicClerk portal, read Sept. 27, 2026. The Ledger did not review the signed ordinances, the newspaper publication, or Section 1-10's fine schedule.