(This is a very interesting development. VASA has been making their arguments for opening public lands to them for a number of years now. It’s nice that the citizens of Woodbury can get it together themselves to lobby effectively! – promoted by Sue Prent)
Last month, the Woodbury Select Board approved the VASA-written ordinance allowing ATVs on certain class 3 town roads. This was after a 4 hour long, very heated, public hearing the month before.
Almost immediately a petition was started to hold a Special Town Meeting on the Board’s ordinance.
Well, last Thursday that Town Meeting was held. Usually Woodbury Town Meetings draw 100 – 120 people, but this one brought in 170-something! Six people spoke, all of them against the ordinance. The three best points made were:
1) This ordinance is not about the townfolk, this will go out nationwide to ATV clubs everywhere and our town’s roads will be torn up by non-tax payers. It will cost the townspeople to fix them.
2) Some of these roads dead end in wetlands and other sensitive habitats. North Road is supposed to connect to Cabot, but they voted to close all their roads…
3) There will be NO enforcement. One resident’s home was burgled and the VSP jumped into action – and took 3 hours to show up.
Woodbury has already seen an increase in unlicensed and unhelmeted riders on all roads, even Rt 14, because the low-intelligence riders already believe this ordinance allows them to ride anywhere they want. My wife almost ran over a kid on Rt 14 on a sharp corner with short sightlines.
The question was called and the vote was taken. The Select Board’s ordinance was voted down by 2/3 (100 and teen-something) to 1/3 (60-something). The meeting ran 35 minutes, not including the time it took to vote.
…of the ordinance. These ATVers are not only assholes, they have a very well-funded organization to lobby and wear people down. Good for Woodbury! And thank you for posting this, Comrade. Talked to Bob Martin today. The battle isn’t over. I suggest a video (a SOUND video) be made of these nitwits ATVing around somewhere on a nice hiking trail. Not only SHOW how disgusting this LOOKS, but also HOW LOUD it is; how disturbing it is to our peaceable woods, where we go to get away from car noise and other everyday noise. The video should also emphasize that the wildlife we have encountered in the past will no longer be around those trails. This video, if made right, could be a powerful lobbying tool for the people of Woodbury and the people of other Vermont towns who are fighting ATVs. It should also be shown to our State elected and appointed officials. And put out on TV; cable access, Vt ETV, WCAX, wherever we can get it shown. It would wake Vermonters up to what is really at stake–OUR HOME.