ATV proposal gets public supportBy MIKE JOHNSTON senior writer
Seven community members voiced support Tuesday for a proposal to allow all-terrain vehicles to operate on Kittitas County roads that have a 35-mph limit or lower.
Kittitas County Undersheriff Clay Myers said a 2013 change in state law allows county governments to opt into the use of street-legal ATVs on county roads by a vote of county commissioners. Myers, in recommending county commissioners undertake the change, said people who live, work or own rural property along 35-mph county roads would benefit.
“You’re not going to see a hundred quads (four-wheeled ATVs) racing past your house,” Myers said about the effects of the change. Those living along stretches of 35-mph county roads might use smaller, more cost- effective ATVs instead of pickup trucks to work on their lands or visit neighbors, Myers said.
Speed limits on rural roadsRetired county sheriff and emergency services specialist Fred Slyfield, during the public comment period, said he is “totally supporting” the proposed change, noting he manages a block of private land along Colockum Pass Road, and using an ATV on the road would greatly assist in his work.
Colockum Pass Road, as a county road without a posted speed limit, by law automatically has a 50 mph limit, Myers said. Slyfield said if someone tried to drive that fast along the length of Colockum Road, given the rough condition of the road, they wouldn’t have a vehicle worth anything at the end of their trip.
If commissioners adopt the ATV change, the sheriff office’s next step would be to change the status of Colockum and other unimproved roads without a speed limit and post them at 35 mph, Myers said. Another task would be to ask Yakima County government officials to consider making similar changes.
There are about 175 miles of county roads, or portions of roads, that have posted speed limits of 35-mph or less.
CertificationThe street-legal ATVs, quads and side-by-side models, must be inspected by a state-licensed ATV dealer to assure they have the required, functioning safety equipment. A dealer certification is given to the ATV owners who, in turn, take it to a state licensing agency, public or at a private business, to get an ATV license plate.
Those seeking an ATV license plate must be licensed drivers in the state.
By some estimates it could cost more than $250 to $650 to have a dealer do the work to make an existing ATV street legal, Myers said.
Duane Rice of Bender Road said he did the work himself, costing him time and about $130.
SafetyThe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit research and communications organization, submitted documents to the county objecting to the change because of concern about injury accidents and deaths from improper ATV use on public roads.
The group called for ATV use on regular roads to be banned.
Myers said his research indicates the ATV safety requirements and licensing make the vehicles much more safe than early models in the 1980s. ATV users who don’t drive safely will continue to do so, Myers said, and the county code change gives law enforcement another tool to pull them over for a ticket.
The state requirements for making the four-wheeled ATVs street legal include stable tire and suspension systems that are already available on new ATVs, Myers said. The other requirements include brake lights, safety mirrors, headlights and turn signals.
Other statesSteve Zabransky of Kittitas Highway said he has recreational property in Upper County next to U.S. Forest Service land and being able to use a street-legal ATV would be welcomed.
He said other states have allowed the change, like Montana, without an accompanying increase in accidents, complaints or legal conflicts.
Farmers and ranchers already are allowed to use ATVs for their work, and would not be affected by the code change.
A second public hearing is set for 6 p.m. tonight at Upper County District Court offices in Cle Elum. Commissioner Paul Jewell said written comments on the issue will continue to be welcomed to the county board’s office, and added commissioners likely will deliberate and make a final decision next week.
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