ATV opponents file lawsuit over roads connecting trails
LOWVILLE — Fresh off a legal victory against the town of Lyonsdale, all-terrain vehicle opponents have taken aim at Lewis County's ATV law that provides a connection between Tug Hill and Brantingham.
"In their apparent rush to satisfy ATV riders, the Lewis County Board of Legislators violated New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law 2405(1) and opened roads without justification," Greig resident Rose V. Pettit states in legal papers filed Monday in the Lewis County clerk's office.
Ms. Pettit, in a state Supreme Court lawsuit, is seeking annulment of a law adopted by legislators Oct. 6, that opened an additional 2.32 miles of county roads to ATVs. The suit was filed "pro se," meaning she plans to represent herself in court.
The county law opens 0.12 mile of Pine Grove Road and 0.9 mile of Burdicks Crossing Road in the town of Greig and 1.06 miles of Lee Road and 0.24 mile of Houseville Road in the town of Turin to ATV traffic. The openings include the Burdicks Crossing Road bridge over the Black River.
Three of the road openings connect with trails on private land on at least one end, but the small segment of Pine Grove Road, where it merges with Burdicks Crossing Road, is used to connect Burdicks Crossing and Sweeney roads.
Article 2405, Section 1 of the state Vehicle and Traffic Law says municipalities may open roads to ATVs "when in the determination of the governmental agency concerned, it is otherwise impossible for ATVs to gain access to areas or trails adjacent to the highway."
Ms. Pettit argues that county officials, in their deliberations on the law, did not identify specific areas or trails in Brantingham or the Tug Hill region that would be otherwise impossible to reach without each road segment being opened.
She also suggests the intent of Vehicle and Traffic Law is to open only short stretches of road to circumnavigate obstacles, while the connection between Tug Hill and Brantingham primarily uses county and town roads.
County Attorney Richard J. Graham declined to comment publicly on the lawsuit.
Legal filings in the case include several past ATV-related rulings, including one filed here weeks ago in which state Supreme Court Justice Joseph D. McGuire nullified Lyonsdale's 2009 law opening roads to ATVs. The judge, who also will likely handle the new lawsuit, ruled the town didn't provide enough specific justification for opening each specific road nor conduct an adequate environmental review.
The ruling came in response to a June lawsuit by Lyonsdale Town Councilwoman Nancy A. O'Brien-Dailey, the lone member of the five-person board to vote against the ATV law. Ms. O'Brien-Dailey also represented herself in court.
Ms. Pettit, 83, lives on Sweeney Road, a town road that has long been open to ATVs. In her lawsuit, she suggests she has legal standing to challenge the county law because her property is about 125 feet from Greig Road.
The suit claims Ms. Pettit had witnessed illegal use of ATVs, including reckless operation, and "has serious concerns about her safety, trespass, damage to her property and the threat to the environment."
A connection for ATVs between Tug Hill and Brantingham had been lacking since December 2005. That's when county legislators, under the leadership of longtime ATV opponent Bruce R. Krug, narrowly rescinded a 2001 law opening portions of 39 county roads to ATV traffic. That road list included Burdicks Crossing and Lee roads.
County leaders over the past few years have opened portions of those roads for ATV benefit rides. Ms. Pettit in her lawsuit indicated she sees a large increase in ATV traffic past her residence during those special events.
