Wasilla considers regulating ATVs in city

Rindi White

WASILLA -- City leaders are weighing whether they can maintain Wasilla's image of offering trail access from city doorsteps while the town, and traffic through it, continue to grow.

The debate is over riding all-terrain vehicles in the city.

Some residents say ATV riders are destroying property and making city roads, sidewalks and paved paths unsafe.

City Council members are split over whether they should ban ATV use altogether, as Anchorage and Palmer have done, or pass rules requiring registration decals and other restrictions.

Or they could leave things as they are.

The city already has some rules for ATV use. Riders under age 16 are prohibited in the city unless with a parent. Helmets are required. ATVs can't be used on bike paths and sidewalks. Driving over 10 mph on paths parallel to a road is prohibited.

But many riders flout the rules, and the rules don't always stop accidents. Deputy Mayor Doug Holler said he wonders if it's ever safe for ATV riders to be crossing five lanes of Parks Highway traffic, for example.

"We've got big-time traffic for a small town, because everybody in the Valley seems to go through Wasilla," Holler said. "Drive down any road and it doesn't look very good because they've got trails everywhere."

Holler said he believes roadside four-wheeler trails prevent businesses and residents from adding planters and landscaping, out of fear the investment will be destroyed.

CRACKDOWN

Holler grew up riding ATVs near Wasilla. But his parents monitored his riding, and going to town was prohibited.

Sometimes parents don't set or enforce those rules, he said. The city has seen problems with four-wheelers cutting through parks and speeding down sidewalks.

Wasilla police and Alaska State Troopers last summer increased patrols along Knik-Goose Bay Road, cracking down on violators, particularly riders with a new game: jumping driveways as they speed along parallel to the road.

In 2005 a 16-year-old boy on a dirt bike died when trying to cross the Parks Highway near the city police station. Two others, both 15, also died that year in car-ATV collisions near Wasilla.

Acting Police Chief Craig Robinson said the city this summer stepped up enforcement of four-wheeler laws by stopping riders who were speeding or driving on sidewalks and pedestrian paths. Officers handed out between 40 and 50 citations, he said.

Robinson said the city also purchased a Buell motorcycle that can be used on and off-road, which might boost enforcement efforts next year.

"We're not going to chase kids down trails with this motorcycle. We're hoping that most will see it and realize they can't outrun it," he said.

"They're doing everything they're able to do with the resources we've allowed them," Councilwoman Dianne Woodruff said.

AN INFORMAL SURVEY

Woodruff said she believes the extra attention is helping. But she still sometimes sees riders speed past her home. She said she'd like to see the city at least require riders to affix license plates or registration decals so violators can be identified.

Other council members said they might consider more rules, but don't want to see ATVs banned completely.

"ATVs are part of being Alaskan," said Councilwoman Leone Harris at a council meeting Monday night. "We are an Alaskan town."

The city isn't considering any new laws just yet. An informal online survey conducted this fall was a first step in weighing whether residents want more rules, said Woodruff, who asked for the survey.

According to the city, 140 people took part in the survey. Seventy percent owned ATVs and 30 percent did not. Most survey takers lived outside the city, with 62 percent identifying themselves as "greater Wasilla" residents. Thirty percent said they lived in city limits.

Most respondents were in favor of at least some restrictions for ATVs ridden off private property.

Survey takers were split over whether riders should be forced to take an educational course before legally riding in the city.

Forty-three percent supported setting a minimum age of 15 years old for riders, and 48 percent supported some kind of registration, either with the city or the state Division of Motor Vehicles.

An online survey doesn't get a comprehensive, accurate view of residents' feelings on ATV use -- the people most likely to take the survey are people strongly in favor or opposed to ATV restrictions. But Woodruff said posting the survey on the city Web site was a free and relatively easy way to get more input on the issue.

The council will hold a public hearing before passing any new legislation.

"I expect when we finally put an ordinance forth, the house will be packed and it'll be fairly contentious," she said.

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Source: http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/989646.html

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