ATV task force would add requirements and limitations

WASILLA — All-terrain vehicle users within city limits could soon face new restrictions on use.

Updates to the Wasilla city ordinances would limit ATV use from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., require insurance and licensing for ATV users, and require parents or guardians of children under the age of 16 to be within 100 feet of those operating the vehicles. Helmets conforming to federal Department of Transportation Standards must also be worn, according to proposed regulations.

Some changes appear largely technical. For example, one portion of the new regulations allows operations on private property with the consent of the owner. The new language places the burden on ATV owners to get permission before driving on pathways or crossing private property.

That provision — combined with another designed to keep ATVs from driving on sidewalks except to go around obstructions along the roadway — is designed to enhance law enforcement powers, said public works director Archie Giddings, who also participated in the task force. The other provisions are designed to enhance safety, Giddings added.

The task force met about four times since Jan. 5. Members said they supported the recommended changes. But without a sea change among ATV users in the city toward more responsible use, the future of ATV use in the city appeared grim, said task force member Anthony Borges.

“The days of ATV riding in the city of Wasilla are numbered,” he said. “We’re up against a growing population, and they’re becoming incompatible with other uses.

“The more congested the population becomes, the more restrictive the rules we have to live by to preserve peace,” Borges said. “The right to swing your arm ends at the tip of my nose. The noses are getting closer together.”

Fellow task-member Craig Teich agreed that population growth would eventually limit the ATV use within the city, particularly the downtown area. The best of the recommendations, he said, was a state registration number similar to that of snowmobiles, which would allow law enforcement officials to be able to identify which users are causing troubles.

Participation in the public meetings was so low, Teich said, he had to go find people to ask their opinion.

“I went out and knocked on doors and asked a few questions about how things should be handled,” he said.

He said the task force’s consensus was that ATV’s should not be operated on city sidewalks, and said he thought responsible operators would avoid the crowded downtown area as a matter of course.

The bottom line is that ATV use can continue in Wasilla, task force chairman Hugh Towe wrote in an introductory statement.

“Many ideas were presented and have been narrowed down to this recommendation: we can continue to safely have off-road vehicle use within the city of Wasilla,” he wrote.

In contrast to both the planning commission and city council meetings, which drew heavy crowds, the task force meetings were sparsely attended, which was surprising, Borges said. City officials initiated the task force last year to investigate the issue and make recommendations to the city council, after a proposed ATV ban within city limits provoked at-times contentious public discussion on the matter. The ATV debate even spawned a mayoral candidacy. Planning commissioner Loren Means, who cast the lone dissenting vote against a ban when it went before the commission, eventually lost to sitting mayor Bert Cottle. Police officials had sought a ban to free up police resources currently dedicated to the issue.

The city council will take up the recommendations 6 p.m., Monday at the regular city council meeting.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.