The Salem Town Board was willing to give further consideration to a citizen request that a town system of approved ATV routes be established.
Melva Stockwell spoke about the issue at Monday’s regular Town Board meeting.
Though she called herself more of a participant in “quiet sports” like bicycling, Stockwell said others in town are interested in ATV use and that regulating it would be better than allowing it to remain an outlaw use.
“I just think it would be a lot safer if it had some control of it,” Stockwell said. “It would be a nice addition.”
Stockwell suggested that all town roads with a speed limit of 35 mph or less be designated as legal for ATV use.
About 40 people attended to express support for Stockwell’s request.
“I didn’t know there were this many people in Salem who were interested in this,” Supervisor Mike Culat said.
Town attorney Richard Scholze said the Town Board would have to pass an ordinance designating any routes.
If ATV routes were designated, Stockwell said she would think that clubs of ATV enthusiasts would form, much like snowmobile clubs currently in the area.
The board ultimately decided to further consider the issue at the Committee of the Whole meeting in May.
What this boils down to is that every day and every night, all of our neighborhoods will be taken over by these loud machines. As it is, I call the police on a regular basis because of these beasts. Think about it – what roads have speed limits of less that 35 miles per hour? OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, our quiet neighborhoods where we walk our dogs and our children play. There will be no limits to the times that the riders will be able to ride them, which will mean the revving and the ripping will be constant and continuous. Had I known that this request was on the agenda, I would have had many people down there at the meeting to object. Mike Culat’s comment ‘I didn’t realize there were this many people in Salem who were interested in this” is both terrifying and confusing. Does he live in the town? This is NOT Bong park. I do NOT want more of this on my road.
To Ellyn Hill – Do you also call the police for every loud motorcycle that goes down your street? ATV’s should have the same rights as motorcycles in small towns. This is not Soviet Russia, this is America, we should have MORE freedom, not less. And the fact that you call the police all the time for something as petty as a person riding a 4 wheeler on the street makes you more of a public nuisance than the ATV itself…