Peoria police cracking down on off-road vehicles in desert

Dustin Gardiner

Thousands of unmarked trails zigzag across the desert in north Peoria.

Most of the area isn't open to off-highway vehicles, but fresh tire ruts in the mud and dirt mounds formed into jumps suggest the trails haven't lost popularity with West Valley riders.

Police say it's because sweeping laws outlawing most OHV use in the area have been slow to catch on.

Peoria's desert has historically served as an all-purpose outdoor playground of sorts for West Valley residents, where dirt bikers and ATV riders could trail-blaze for miles across the unpopulated land without running afoul of authorities.

Two years ago, that suddenly changed.

The state Legislature passed a dust-abatement law requiring cities and towns in the Valley to adopt ordinances outlawing most HOV use on unpaved lots.

Lawmakers took action after the EPA warned dust pollution levels in metro Phoenix far exceeded federal clean air standards, posing serious health risks to individuals with asthma, lung disease and chronic allergies, among other respiratory problems.

OHV use in the area is now limited to state-designated trails and private lands watered down to prevent dust from stirring up into the air.

In the West Valley, it means a relatively minimal amount of land is still open to use.

Now, police say, they're tasked with the challenge of enforcing the law on a mostly unaware public.

"A lot of people have been riding out here for 15, 20 years," said Sgt. Chris Webb, who oversees patrol in the area for the Peoria Police Department. "We're kind of on an information campaign."

Given the popularity of the area, some riders aren't taking the news too kindly.

OHV enthusiasts scoff at the ordinances as a heavy-handed attempt to push riders out of the West Valley altogether.

Jim Gursh, a spokesman for the Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition, said Peoria went too far by closing nearly every area that had historically been open to OHV use. He said the city would benefit more from maintaining these trails and collecting the tax revenue brought in by riders.

"It's easier to manage than it is to close," he said.

On a recent Saturday morning, Webb and his partner, Officer Craig Bauer, patrolled trail networks near Lake Pleasant to look for illegal OHV users. It didn't take long to find droves of violators.

Many of the riders simply claimed ignorance.

One pair of dirt bikers passed the officers' SUV and three "No Trespassing" signs before reaching an unapproved riding area crisscrossed by dozens of trails.

When they were approached by police, the men said they had no idea they were breaking the law.

Whether the riders were ignoring the signs or truly weren't aware, Webb took the time to tell them about the new ordinances and let them go with a warning.

Police are taking a soft approach toward the issue, choosing to educate riders rather than ticket them for violating a law they might not know about. No one has been ticketed since enforcement efforts began about six months ago.

"We don't want to discourage recreation," Bauer said. "We just want it done in the right areas."

However, Webb warns riders not to assume they'll never be ticketed. Violators could be fined a minimum of $150 on the first offense.

"If we catch them out here a second time, of course we're going to ticket them," he said.

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Source: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/02/12/20100212-off-road-veicles-in-peoria.html

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