County proposing to let ATVs on some county roads

The proposed ordinance and maps designating the roadways that would be accessible to all-terrain vehicle (ATV) drivers can be viewed on-line at klickitatcounty.org, under the Public Works-Road Department’s home page.

According to Public Works Director/County Engineer Gordie Kelsey, the proposed ordinance would open 191 miles of county road to ATV use. The county system has 1,084 miles of road.

Only county roads that are maintained by the county and with speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less would be open to ATV use, if the County Board enacts the legislation.

ATV drivers would be subject to the same traffic laws and requirements as motor vehicle operators: They would have to have a valid Washington driver’s license, or a valid license issued by the state where they reside.

“An ATV is a motor vehicle and must be registered; therefore, liability insurance is mandatory,” Kelsey noted.

Roadways designated for ATV use would not be signed to advise other motorists and users that they are now sharing certain road segments with ATVs. Instead, state law requires the county to “publicly list and make the roads where ATV use is allowed accessible to the public from the main page of the county Web site,” Kelsey said.

Under the proposed ordinance, a wheeled ATV "means (a) any motorized nonhighway vehicle with handlebars that are 50 inches or less in width, has a seat height of at least 20 inches, weighs less than 1,500 pounds, and has four tires having a diameter of 30 inches or less, or (b) a utility-type vehicle designed for and capable of travel over designated roads that travels on four or more low-pressure tires of 20 psi or less, has a maximum width less than 74 inches, has a maximum weight less than 2,000 pounds, has a wheelbase of 110 inches or less, and satisfies at least one of the following: (i) Has a minimum width of 50 inches; (ii) has a minimum weight of at least 900 pounds; or (iii) has a wheelbase of over 61 inches.”