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| Proposed ordinance would open county roads to ATV travel - ATV | OHV News - Rides | ATV News and Events - Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum | ||||||||||||||||
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killswitch_1 Admin 
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Cook County News Link Cook County News-Herald Last Updated: Thursday, January 11th, 2007 10:54:14 AM Bill Neil Staff writer A proposed ordinance that would open county roads for the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) was presented to the Cook County Board Tuesday. But a decision on the draft, which was written by former county attorney Bill Hennessy, was delayed by at least a week in order to allow more time for legal review. Commissioner Jan Hall made the motion asking for an extra week when discussion revealed that there were a lot of questions and possibly inconsistencies with state statutes in the document. Hall asked that the topic be listed on next week’s agenda for further discussion after county attorney Tim Scannell said that would give him enough time to review the ordinance and assure it is in conformance with state regulations. As proposed, the new ordinance would allow ATV use on all county roads except the Gunflint Trail and County Road 8, during daylight hours and on the extreme right side of the road, at a speed limit of 30 mph. The ordinance was based on a recommendation by a committee that was set up to determine the safest routes for ATV travel in light of the fact that many of the local ditches and outside slopes alongside roads do not allow safe operation of the vehicles. State statutes stipulate that the off-road machines must travel in the ditches, except where the local municipalities have designated otherwise. John McClure of the Cook County ATV Club asked that the section of the ordinance limiting use to daylight hours be stricken, noting that Hennessy must have misunderstood the state statutes when he drafted the ordinance. McClure said the state mandates no such restrictions. McClure also suggested that the ATVs be required to travel in the same direction with traffic. Otherwise, he said he believed there were no other changes from the DNR regulations, except the addition of a speed limit, “but we can live with that,” he said. Board chair Bruce Martinson said he believed the original intent of the ordinance was to limit ATV travel to daylight hours only, but Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said he reviewed ATV ordinances from other counties and found no mention of hours of operation anywhere else. McClure pointed out that the state mandates that all ATVs be equipped with lights which must be lit during operation, so safety shouldn’t be a problem. Discussion then turned to the list of roads to be excluded. Martinson said residents of Cascade Beach Road have made it clear they don’t want the ATVs there, and Commissioner Jim Johnson said he has already received several e-mails from residents who don’t want ATVs traveling county roads along or off the Gunflint Trail. Hall conceded that more roads may have to be added to the exclusion list after the road inventory is considered. That prompted some complaints from the ATV Club representatives, who said they only wanted to be treated like everybody else who uses the public roads. Chuck Silence told the board that if they want to start imposing such restrictions on ATVers, then they should also put the same restrictions on “bicycles and walkers...and everybody else who uses the roads.” The topic will be up for discussion again Jan. 16. Once a revised draft is agreed upon, it will be advertised and a public hearing set.
____________________ If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. - Mark Twain |
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killswitch_1 Admin
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COOK COUNTY NEWS LINK Commissioners get an earful at ATV hearing Cook County News-Herald Jay Andersen Editor The County Commissioners Room was filled to standing room only, Tuesday, March 20, as more than 125 residents crowded in to hear and express opinions on the pending ordinance that would allow ATVs on county roads. After more than 40 comments from the public pro and con, in the end commissioners referred the ordinance back to committee for revision and fine tuning. While there was ample public support for keeping the ordinance as is, there were enough questions raised both by opposing forces and the commissioners themselves to reconsider parts of the plan to allow ATVs on nearly all county roads. A revised ordinance will be presented to the board by May 8, with another public hearing to follow. Commissioner Bob Fenwick emphasized that when the ordinance goes back to the study committee it has to reappear as a better option — he said that it’s not going back to committee to be killed. The committee will have a new member and alternate, however. Since its inception the study committee has been made up of commissioners, appointees and one member of the local ATV club with alternate. Commissioner Jim Johnson said that in the interests of balance, he proposed representation from interests other than the ATV faction. The board accepted Harris Mills, a former DNR safety trainer, as that representative with John Bottger, Gunflint Trail resident, as the alternate. Johnson’s proposal was prompted, he said, by his receiving 177 phone calls, e-mails and letters from District 4 residents with an over two to one ratio opposed to the ordinance. He said he didn’t know if the people in his district were atypical, but their response showed him the ordinance “needs more review.” After an hour and a half of public testimony, chair Bruce Martinson closed the comment period and opened the discussion to the commissioners. Several themes arose over the next hour and a quarter consideration: head, tail and break lights, helmets, signage, road conditions and especially the criteria used for designating which roads would allow ATV traffic and which would not. ATV club representatives reported their efforts to gain legislative action to require proper night lighting on the vehicles and pledged financial support to help with county road signage. The proposed ordinance would have closed County Road 8 (Devil Track) and County Road 12 (Gunflint Trail, except for the 40 mph zone at Mid-Trail). These were deemed to not have sufficient shoulder capabilities for right-side riding, plus they are high-traffic roads. Martinson said the connectivity issue at the West End was crucial to the interests of Tofte and Schroeder residents who want access to trail systems, but need county roads to do so — especially the Caribou Trail. There was also concern expressed over the Cascade Beach Road, which does not allow a connection to other trails and roads. When to close county roads to ATV traffic, who decides, and how the public is notified as another issue for discussion. Additional cost to the county was another concern. Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said the committee had not felt there would be additional road maintenance costs and that if ATVs were legal on roads, there would be fewer law enforcement calls. There was also some discussion of either setting a review date once the ordinance is adopted, or a sunset clause that would require re-authorization after a trial period. There was a general consensus that ATVs on the shoulder would be less environmentally damaging than riding the ditches. While safety was an issue during the public discussion, the commissioners seemed to accept the idea that it was as much, if not more, a matter of driver control than mechanical vehicle handling. Most members of the publics who favored the ordinance cited obsolete safety warnings applied to new, safer vehicles — especially back in the days of three-wheelers when Japanese manufacturers were forced to include warning stickers on their machines. Also, speakers like Rebecca Thompson said that she and many others who want to enjoy the out of doors cannot handle the physical activity. “The physically impaired need access, too,” she said. Shirley Lindgren said she still likes to hunt and fish, but her age prevents her from long hikes into favorite lakes. “I still like to do the fun things,” she added. Dale Speck admonished the board to “start standing up for the locals,” by adopting the ordinance. Nancy Seaton, speaking for the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byways Committee said it was not about “locking out the locals.” She said the ecosystem was fragile, and that areas of quiet and calm were fast disappearing. Many proponents of the ordinance pointed out that barking dogs, logging trucks and automobiles were noisier than ATVs and that hikers and bikers on the roads were just as big a safety hazard. Clyde Hanson said that wildlife watchers actually spend more in the county than ATVers; other opponents cited vehicle instability and the propensity to “wobble and bounce, loss of control and no adequate rider protection.” Joy Davis of Lutsen said “Once you vote in the ordinance, you’ll never take it back” no matter how many reviews are scheduled. She pled for peace and quiet. Tom Thompson, Grand Marais, cited his history with snowmobile and ATV trail work. “When we go into the woods, we stop, turn off our machines and listen, too.”
____________________ If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. - Mark Twain |
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turboman Member 
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I knew dat... 
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