Residents express mixed emotions on ORV law

Hadley Robinson

BELLAIRE - Antrim residents continue to weigh in on a state law the county could adopt to allow off road vehicles to travel along the right side of county roads.

Though commissioners have discussed this at their last two monthly meetings, they have not acted yet and are not required to. If they do not make a decision, the townships will individually have an opportunity to opt in or out next July, one year after it was signed into law by Governor Jennifer Granholm.

The commissioners show a mixed bag of opposition and support to the legislation in Antrim County and at the last meeting, commissioner Larry Bargy chairman of the health, animal control and public safety committee recommended the county board not act and send it to the townships.

Antrim County Road Commission Manager Burt Thompson is opposed to the law.

"I'm against it," Thompson said. "I think it's a bad idea for safety. These vehicles are not designed for roadway use. They're not equipped for on road type travel and the roads are not designed for these ORVs. Heck, they call them off road vehicles for a reason."

Thompson said the law would allow the vehicles to travel on the paved portion of the road and he is concerned accidents could occur with ORVs and on-road vehicles traveling at high speeds along the road. He also thinks ORVs could cause damage to roads, which puts the liability on the road commission.

"We're going to be the ones that have to pay money to repair it," Thompson said. "That has happened in other counties. There has been a case where damage was caused by an ORV, another vehicle crashed and the county was held liable for that. I'm not pulling this one out of the air."

But many Antrim County residents would like to see this law put into place locally and commissioners have been getting calls in favor of it from some constituents.

Larry Houck lives in Mt. Pleasant but has a cabin in the Mancelona area.

"We would really like to see them open some more roads up there for (ORVs)," Houck said. "We think it would help the area a lot."

Houck and his family have three or four off road vehicles and he says there is not a whole lot of space to ride them.

"We do spend a lot of time and money up there," Houck said. "We don't ride them hard. We really like the area and we're not there to tear it up."

But support for the law is far from unanimous among residents and landowners.

Kenneth Allen is a property owner in Lakes of the North on the eastern side of the county.

"I'm very much against it," Allen said. "They do not ride 25 miles per hour. They let kids drive up and down. I don't believe they should be on the road whatsoever."

Allen wonders if all those on ORVs are insured and licensed, and mentions that he sees many who do not respect private property.

"I hope the board knocks it down," Allen said. "They cannot be controlled if they let this happen. I don't like to see anybody get hurt or anybody's property destroyed."

Some supporters believe adopting this law could entice outdoor tourists to Antrim County and improve the economy.

But Thompson doesn't see that happening in Antrim County.

"We don't have a whole lot of state land that people can be riding on anyway," he said. "I don't see it necessary that we're trying to connect trails to convenience stores, gas stations - that's not there in this county."

If the county did adopt the law, the road commission could exempt 30 percent of the county roads and state roads are exempt as well.

If not, the townships individually will decide whether to sign the ORV law or not and each can exempt 30 percent of their own township roads too.

Source: http://www.antrimcountynews.com/stories/110508/loc_acn02.shtml

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites