Leaf Rapids, Manitoba: no plastic bags, but golf carts for everyone

Leaf Rapids, Manitoba. The name just screams rustic, doesn't it? While the city's website says that "Leaf Rapids was designed to be perfect," there have been some difficulties in the way the town interacts with the great outdoors. Case in point: If anyone's heard about Leaf Rapids, it's probably because the town passed a by-law in March banning one-use plastic shopping bags.
The latest conservation idea in Leaf Rapids is to encourage people to use electric golf carts instead of gas-powered cars to get around town. There's little worry about range, as Leaf Rapids is only three kilometers across, and golf carts can go around 70 before needed to recharge. Mayor Ed Charrier is excited to get his golf cart in the spring. His question to residents, according to Kathryn Young, CanWest News Service: "Why would you start your vehicle for a two-second ride uptown?" My question: why not walk?

Does this sound like the perfect town to you? If you're interested in this sort of community, Leaf Rapids officials would like you to know that they are offering a free golf cart to anyone who buys one of the town's 66 houses it is selling. If you decide to move, don't get rid of your other car just yet. Leaf Rapids is surrounded by nature and the nearest town, Thompson, is 215 kilometers away.

[Source: thanks to MetroMPG]

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