“AN OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR AND STATE OFFICIALS”
Dear
Acting Governor DiFrancesco:
We
are forwarding this letter to express our grave concern over the epidemic of
Off-Road Vehicular traffic concerns in the State of New Jersey.
This problem is particularly rampant in our more rural communities where
open space is still available. These
Off-Road Vehicles are sold as family sport/recreation machines that every family
should have. How could you deny
someone the feel of the great outdoors as you tear across wide open space
creating road hazards and destroying valuable plants and property in the name of
a good time. Most police
departments do not have Off-Road Vehicles for pursuit nor the desire to chase,
arrest, or ticket mostly neighborhood kids, parents, or friends who are riding
around their towns.
It
is not my intent to make light of this subject, but it is apparent that the
State has been very lax in taking any appropriate action to enforce laws,
consider public safety, and damage to public and private property.
It is with this in mind that I write you and our legislators throughout
the State on behalf of the Buena Vista Township Committee.
And
what is it that you can do? That
may be beyond the realm of the Buena Vista Township Committee to help you
decide. We started a project in our
community where we thought we would set aside some land where the off-road
vehicles could safely ride. The
State Police, who provide us protection, said if such a facility existed they
could put an end to most illegal operators of Off-Road Vehicles.
We were told that tickets or arrests of violators could be referred to
the track in lieu of fines by our courts. The
track would be a “controlled atmosphere” with emphasis on safety.
Once
the idea of a track was proposed, we started receiving letters from residents
saying that they did do not want such a facility in our back yard because of the
noise, destruction, and new visitors
it would bring to our community. Our
town does not want any of that either!
Our community has many sand-mining
operations that have left behind barren acres that
have not been restored.
Our original thought was to use some of this land (approx. 200 acres) to
stop the destruction on 20,000 other acres in our town.
The feed back I have gotten is that people do not want a track and they
would rather have the State do something (but they do not know what) about all
the people who are riding illegally everywhere else.
With
all of this in mind, what do we do? Do
we outlaw Off-Road Vehicles in New Jersey, or do we set up special ATV police
units armed with ticket books and blue lights?
Or do we prevent the sale of these vehicles for this type of recreational
activity. We need your help and we
need some laws that will tell us the appropriate place that the Off-Road Vehicle
industry has in New Jersey! Several
years ago a youth from Pleasantville was killed in Buena Vista, more recently a
death occurred in Weymouth Township, and yesterday someone was killed in
Galloway Township. In addition,
there have been countless motor vehicle accidents and hundreds of other related
injuries because of careless operation of these vehicles.
We are not experts in this field and stand ready for suggestions or laws
that will make a difference for the long term.
Sincerely,
Mayor
Chuck Chiarello
On
Behalf of the Township Committee
Deputy Mayor Teresa Kelly
Committeeman Peter
Bylone
Committeeman Michael Rivera
Committeewoman Sue Barber