Bethel City Council has asked both State Troopers and Bethel PD to more actively enforce existing laws and ordinances banning ATVs on roadways, something Mayor Rick Robb voted against at Tuesday's council meeting.
“It’s gonna have adverse affects to the way of life out here for many people, which is using off-road vehicles, which is traveling. Traveling over the tundra, over the river in the winters because it will inhibit our abilities to start the journey in town," Robb said.
Robb used his own experience as a snowmachine owner, which would also be subject to the decision, as a reference point for why he thought stricter guidelines were not right for Bethel. He rejected council member Nikki Hoffman’s assertions that city transit options could take the place of ATVs.
“There’s no bus to my trapline; can only get there by snowmachine, and in some cases walking. If I can’t operate my snowmachine, if I can’t get out to the trail head without being ticketed, then I can’t go out there," Robb said.
Council member Mary Weiss shared concerns about people who use ATVs as a primary mode of transportation and rely on them because they are more cost effective than cars. Council Member Leif Albertson disputed this idea, though the facts are in Weiss’ favor.
New ATVs can cost as much as a used car,and get much better mileage per gallon than an automobile. Most ATVs have small one or two gallon gas tanks that can be filled for less than $10 and not be refilled for weeks.
Council member Zach Fansler summed up safety concerns for the largely unregulated vehicles.
“This is something that I’ve heard many, many complaints on. I’ve witnessed many, many problems and it’s only a matter of time before we have a very bad tragedy," Fansler said.
Although ATVs are already illegal to drive on city and state roads in Bethel, Police Chief Andre Achee told the council the PD was only enforcing the law in cases where drivers were being reckless. It wasn’t clear at the end of the meeting if the chief was going to take the order seriously, saying that it was at the department's discretion to follow up on all crimes except domestic violence and adding that he would often be too busy to chase down ATVs.
The order will affect hundreds of ATV owners across Bethel, and when the river freezes, those in villages, too. Villagers that come to Bethel to buy goods in the winter will not be allowed to take their vehicles off the river without threat of a ticket, assuming that the police decide to enforce the council's decision.
Council passed the resolution 4-3 with Mary Weiss, Rick Robb, and Byron Maczynski voting against.
All council members attended the meeting.
Correction: The amount of gas a typical ATV holds has been clarified.