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Show jOff-Road Vehicles : The Enthusiast's View & .u is the lasl a series of articles i lit problems, complaints, Tand possible solutions to the fife 1 of safeguarding mountains i "destruction by off-road traffic !iv still protecting human rights 1 .freedoms. This article attempts .resent the views of some torcycle dealers and enthusiasts. V By LINDA HARRIS , t week the feasibility of a county tt 7, city park were examined. In an r anlnth study called the "Off-Road ft Plan." tne Utah County ' Iflinf! Commission concluded that JEcounty and a city park were not J needed but that it was possible to 1 i !L such a park without creating a I Jeat financial burden at the same I '"The commission made several .iestions of where land might be rouired and also published plans for Sncing both initial and ongoing 'while interviewing several people ,N lhev were asked both what they fcl .M2ht about a park and how they H JlgM it should be financed. Most H re in favor of creating a place for . I cyclists to ride. The opinions of how it i should be financed, however, varied !Jj 0tf 'suggestion was to have the S dealers put up the money. T Id contacting a couple of dealers in (he area, one said he felt he could not afford any cost like that. He felt the 1 state should finance it. "Owners buy license for them, they buy a recreational permit for them, they pay taxes on them. For a dealer to provide an area flit's just more than a dealer can do," said Duff Shelley of Duff Shelley Motorcycle in American Fork. Mr. Shelley sells mostly on-road on-road bikes. Mr. Lee Hunsaker of Allied Cycle in Orem said he thought the park in Ohio( where the dealer allowed free riding to those who purchased bikes at his dealership) was a good idea and if he could find some cheap land around here, he would probably do it. In the ORV plan they suggest involving in-volving riders in construction of a park both in determining layout and providing volunteer labor. Some motorcycle clubs at the time volunteered their time. The plan mentions grants up to 50 percent of cost are available. Other possible sources are bonds, capital improvement mill levies, or user fees. Though the park seems to be a feasible idea, there may be other alternatives, as well. Some of these would be more acceptable to the cyclist and less to the non-user and vice versa. One possibility might be to open up more forest land to motorbikes. The travel plan indicates an extensive area open to motor vehicle travel but "on designated Forest system roads and trails" only. One cyclist feels that the Forest Service is living by a double standard. He says you are required to buy an off-road permit, but then they do not allow you a place to use it. It is his feeling that Forest Service land is public land. "That's my mountain just as much as it is their's," said Craig Whaley, Pleasant Grove resident. Mr. Whaley says he has been up American Fork Canyon and can find hardly any roads that are open for riding. In talking with Harry Opfar of the Pleasant Grove Ranger Station, that was found to be true. "The only areas open are the existing roads - the paved roads - in the lower part of the canyon. Dirt bikes can be ridden on any roads that don't have water bars (mounds of dirt) blocking them. Roads thai are normally travelled up there are open," he said. Mr. Opfar listed the roads that are open: North Fork, Cumming's Parkway, the road to Silver Lake Flat, and the road around the north end of Timpanogas. "Thai's it, other than the paved roads," he said. Mr. Whaley says, "the environmentalists en-vironmentalists got their wilderness area, now why don't they leave' the rest to us. The wilderness land is all tied up, now they want to control the remaining land," he said. He feels that as much damage is being done by bulldozers cutting through the hills. Ski resorts denude large tracts. Mr. Whaley contends that you are not required to buy a license for your horse or to ride it, yet you are allowed to ride it freely through the hills. And, he adds, they tear up the dirt as much as bikes do. "Look at the rodeo grounds," he says. Mr. Larry Mecham of Lindon also feels cycles do no more damage than horses. "I don't go off trails like a horse does," he said. "When I ride in the foothills, I stay on the road. I have a good time and don't bother anybody," said Mr. Mecham. He feels the police should just go after those that abuse the area. "I can see where they've torn up the hills. But they have to police it anyway, so why don't they just get those that are off the main road?" he questioned. "Where there's a hazard to others, I can see the need for laws to control them," said Mr. Whaley. "But I think they should just punish the ones that are misusing the foothills," he adds. "If you didn't like a branch on your tree, you'd cut it off - you wouldn't chop down the whole tree," he said. "Let the kids ride in the hills. If the police catch them off the trail, then write them a ticket," he said. "I don't think motorcycles are really the ones that are doing the damage," he said. It was the feeling of Michael Blackhurst, Pleasant Grove City policeman, also, that the four-wheelers do the majority of the trailmaking. Mr. Kent Traveller of the Forest Service, also felt four-wheelers were the worst offenders. He felt dirt bikes were better, but suggested three-wheel three-wheel bikes were more ideal because they tended to roll over the top of the dirt and vegetation rather than digging in like the two-wheelers. Orem city has a park at the mouth of Provo Canyon, which covers quite a large acreage. An Orem City employee em-ployee in the streets department said he thought that was open to motorcycles. motor-cycles. However, former mayor, James Mangum, said the police have been trying to keep them out of the park. "They've chased everyone else out," he said (referring to the cyclists). Mr. Whaley said he is against the establishment of a park because it would be controlled and would probably involve hitting the cyclist with even another fee for riding. He feels if there were such a park, it should be a private park, not publicly-funded. publicly-funded. Gail Nielson, who lives in nor theastern Pleasant Grove, is an avid hiker and photographer, and she also likes to ride motorcycles. She has been fighting for some time to preserve the beauty and natural resources of the foothills against further damage. "I am not opposed to motorcycle riding though," she said. "I don't care about them driving up there as long as its legal," she added. In an interview with a couple of young people, it was found they would be in favor of a park, if it had jumps and hills to climb, but they would just as soon have the foothills open. 14-year-old Darl Brown said he hardly ever goes riding anymore, though he really likes the sport, because he hasn't had a way out of town. "There's really no place to ride," he said. "Molly's used to be big, but it's not too hot anymore because of the patrolling." (Molly's is owned partly by the State of Utah and partly by Manila Culinary Water, and is not privately-owned as was indicated . before.) Darl felt if the foothills, or a park, were opened up to riding, someone should be there to supervise "the airheads that go up there and wreck and get hurt." Dawn Whaley, who has a small cc bike, said "A park would be okay if you didn't have to have a parent to go up there with you. They don't have the time." Darl said he'd like to go down and talk with the city about it. There are many alternatives to solving the problem -- one or all of which could be tried. Leaving the problem as it is, is also an alternative - perhaps the most economically wasteful of all. Not only are cyclists, perhaps, throwing their money away on dirt bikes they cannot ride, but alleged damage to soil, whether cycle-caused or not, is already costing. Enforcement costs also. Perhaps there's a more economical way of patrolling. Someone suggested a patrol by cyclists who use the hills wisely. And another suggestion was to give permits for riding in the foothills to those cyclists who volunteer to help clean up the area every year. In terms of mental economics, another concern is.'What is the cost in freedom of prohibiting use of public land?' One of the first steps in seeking a solution beyond prosecution of all unlicensed or unregistered vehicles, would be to study the exact damage done singularly by motorcycles. And if there is none, or if it is minimal, it might be wise to weigh it against the freedom of the youth and others to enjoy the sport of motorcycle motor-cycle riding in the hills as long as they create no noise disturbance, cut no new trails, or in any way act unsafely or abuse the land. A city park also seems like an alternative worth pursuing beyond the stage of a detailed study Three boys about seven-years old were pushing their unregistered bicycles up the middle of the paved road leading to the Kiwanis Park on a sunny July Saturday, each carrying a sack lunch in one hand. It looked like they were out for a few hours of riding through the foothills on their bikes. In another few years, they will be at an age where they may want to replace 10-speeds with 50-cyclers or more. The question is, 'Will we have the answer for them of where to ride? ' |