A new ride

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

There seems to be a mindset among some area residents that those who are working to build a public hiking and biking trail are, in reality, working to take away a playground for all-terrain vehicle users.
We've been following an online social network and community gossip battle being waged by opponents of the trail effort in which we see an underlying view that the former railroad corridor, now under control of the Redbank Valley Trails Association and the Allegheny Valley Land Trust, should continue to be open to ATVs and dirt bikes.
But that railroad corridor has never been "open to" motorized vehicles, other than trains and those used by the railroad company or trail group for maintenance.
The trail is not only off limits to ATVs because the railroad made that a requirement of the lease, and because the trail group's insurance forbids it, four-wheelers are prohibited for one darn good, common sense reason - it's not safe to have ATVs and other motorized vehicles speeding along a stone-based trail alongside people on bicycles or on foot.
Most importantly, this is a property rights issue. Whether you agree with the laws of this land or not, the law says the trail group now owns that property. As owners, they have a right to determine who can access their land, just as any homeowners have the right to allow people in their house or forbid others from stepping foot on their property.
We see a group of dedicated local residents who have stepped forward to take on the huge task of creating a more than 40-mile long recreational facility for all to enjoy - as long as its done without motors. For others in the area to break the laws and damage that trail with ATVs is inexcusable. It's no different than vandals who tear up the Little League or soccer fields, or those who spraypaint graffiti in our communities.
Instead of fighting the trail volunteers, we urge ATV riders throughout the area to organize themselves, just as the trail folks have done, and take on the complicated, time-consuming task of creating a new non-profit group so that this new organization can begin work to develop suitable, and legal, places for ATVs to be used. We need ATV parks and trails in this area, and those facilities could provide locals with a place to ride, and also be an economic catalyst for tourism in the region.
A new ATV group can raise money, apply for the same grants the trail group seeks, and find volunteers to meet with local landowners to find suitable riding locations. Armstrong County, led by Commissioner Rich Fink, has already begun work on developing an off-road vehicle park near this area. Local ATV riders should join that effort, or work to create a new one in Clarion County.
Energy wasted on fighting with the trail group - which has the law on its side - could be better channeled toward an effort that would benefit ATV riders and the entire region. We hope that this small minority of ATV owners that gives all riders a bad name will cease their criminal acts and childish behaviors and start respecting fundamental property rights. And we hope this war of words, rumors and vandalism can be transformed into some kind of positive, community-building work that the local trail volunteers have demonstrated over the past year.