LeRay resident complains about ATV noise on road

Written by Watertown Daily Times

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Sarah M. Rivette

EVANS MILLS — Spring is here, and that means one thing to residents of Elm Ridge Road in the town of LeRay — more all-terrain vehicles.

"There are wheelers going over 50 miles per hour," said Jeffrey L. Grill, a resident of Elm Ridge Road. "They are concentrated on my road and we don't catch a break."

Mr. Grill came to the LeRay Town Council on Thursday night with complaints of "screaming" wheelers going up and down his road at all hours. He asked the board if anything could be done — whether that means instituting more enforcement, passing a law that would open all town roads to ATVs or rescinding the local law that allows ATVs on Elm Ridge and Hall roads.

The town opened those two roads to four-wheelers in 2001 because they connect to a trail in Philadelphia. That law came a year after the Evans Mills Board of Trustees opened all village roads to the vehicles.

At the time there was an ATV club in the village, the Phi Ray Club. That club has disbanded, but there are several other organizations throughout the area. Mr. Grill suggested the board speak to club members to see if there was anything they could do to police their own.

Mr. Grill admits that the only real solution is more enforcement and said so to the board Thursday night.

"I just want it to be fair" he said. "I don't have anything against the clubs or anything, because I know it's not them causing the problems. It's about 5 percent of wheelers that are all piped out and loud. It's becoming a quality-of-life thing."

Supervisor Ronald C. Taylor listened to the complaints, but offered no solution. He said the option of opening all town roads was out of the question because in order for ATVs to travel on a town road, that road must connect to a trail. That was affirmed by attorney Eugene J. Langone.

Even enforcement can be tough because the town relies on Jefferson County and the state for policing. According to village Mayor Robert E. Boucher, now that the village will have a part-time police force, enforcement might be easier.

"When I talked to the police officers, we said we would have them look into it and determine whether it's legal or not to have them on village roads," he said. "There have been a few complaints. But we are going to get complaints whether it's legal or not because they will be on the roads either way."

Source: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20090517/NEWS03/305179950/-1/NEWS

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