Countywide ATV trail debated in Somerset: ‘Let’s make some money.’
Somerset County Commissioner Brian Fochtman lives in Brothersvalley Township, where all-terrain vehicles are prohibited on public streets. But ATVs using township roads in Brothersvalley and elsewhere – “riding dirty” in the vernacular – are a common sight anyway, he said, so why not create a recreational outlet for riders and an economic opportunity for the…
Somerset County Commissioner Brian Fochtman lives in Brothersvalley Township, where all-terrain vehicles are prohibited on public streets.
But ATVs using township roads in Brothersvalley and elsewhere – “riding dirty” in the vernacular – are a common sight anyway, he said, so why not create a recreational outlet for riders and an economic opportunity for the county out of what is already an increasingly popular pastime in Somerset County?
“I have side-by-sides going by my place all the time. If they’re going to do it, let’s make some money,” he told about 75 people who turned out Aug. 13 for a meeting in Somerset, where plans for a north-south county ATV trail were unveiled.
The economic boost could be hundreds of millions of new tourism dollars for the county, Fochtman said.
The ATV buggy plan was prepared by Pittsburgh-area Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. at a cost of $80,300, which was covered by a state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant.
The proposed path of the ATV trail will be posted on the county website, which includes passing through Fair Hope, Allegheny and Brothersvalley townships, where ATVs and side-by-sides are prohibited on public streets. CEC Assistant Project Manager Rachael V. Dapper said the scope of the contract – creating a north to south route – made it impossible to avoid those municipalities, but the final plan will likely use alternates.
The Somerset County Fairgrounds in Summit Township, near Meyersdale Borough, where the buggies are allowed on municipal roads, could serve as a trailhead for a countywide trail network, according to Somerset County Fair Board President Dave Berkey.
“I just wanted to get something established because there is a need,” Fochtman said. “We’re hemorrhaging jobs. We’re just working with the townships and boroughs that want to work with us.”
Municipal approval is necessary before buggies can use public roads in any community. The required ordinance has not come up for discussion in Confluence Borough.
Still, opponents of the proposal said ensuring that riders comply with traffic and land use regulations would be difficult in a county dotted with municipalities too small to afford hiring local police. A state police response to an ATV complaint would also be unlikely, said Summit Township resident Dennis Stahl.
“They’re already there at 2 a.m.,” said Stahl, who lives on Fike Hollow Road. “Who do I call? And who answers?”
Fair Hope resident and critic of the proposed trail Greg Tunstall said he felt like he was outnumbered.
“We’re being railroaded,” he said. “How do you get around the idea that these machines are not designed for roads?
“Let’s be honest: no one is going to drive 35 miles an hour.”
Boswell resident and conservationist Lenny Lichvar said a walking trail was developed in Jennerstown several years ago, but has since closed to walkers because of damage by ATV traffic.
“Signs have been torn down through the nature park,” he said. “It was shut down because of ATV abuse.
“You want to make this a Mecca for ATVs, and not everybody who comes to Mecca is a choirboy or choirgirl.”
Dapper, the assistant project manager for the Pittsburgh-area consulting engineer, emphasized that safety was a big concern.
“It’s all about safety,” she said. “You guys live here, it’s all about perspective.”