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St. Lawrence County legislators to invite state lawmakers to get first-hand experience with ATVs, UTVs

Posted 5/29/14

By JIMMY LAWTON CANTON -- St. Lawrence County legislators are hoping a first-hand experience will convince lawmakers to allow registration of large utility task vehicles. On Saturday St. Lawrence …

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St. Lawrence County legislators to invite state lawmakers to get first-hand experience with ATVs, UTVs

Posted

By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON -- St. Lawrence County legislators are hoping a first-hand experience will convince lawmakers to allow registration of large utility task vehicles.

On Saturday St. Lawrence County will hold an “Elected Official ATV/UTV Awareness Day,” to celebrate the grand opening of the multi-use trail system at Long Pond Easement, South Colton.

“Many elected officials have never seen side by side,” St. Lawrence County Trail Coordinator Deb Christie said in an email regarding the event. “We felt this was a good way for them to experience ATVs and UTVs while enjoying the grand opening of the St Lawrence County Multi-Use Trail System.”

The event is not open to the public.

St. Lawrence County Legislators have been urging state lawmakers to increase a long-standing weight restriction that excludes heavier recreation vehicles from being registered. Christie said this will be an opportunity for lawmakers to see the vehicles first hand.

“They will see the difference between the UTVs that can be registered and the UTVs that cannot be registered,” Christie said.

Currently New York is the only state in union that does not allow these vehicles to be registered, according to county officials.

Legislators argue that the state is losing out on millions of tourism dollars as well as hurting local sales due to a lack of legislation.

While the bill has found success in the state Senate, it has been stalled in committee in the Assembly. Christie and county lawmakers are hopeful Saturday’s event will help move it forward.

It also has support from several towns and villages as well as the county sheriff’s department.

Furthering their efforts, legislators are also circulating the following petition:

“Please support legislation in Albany that modernizes the ATV definition and allows side by sides that weigh up to 1,500 lbs. to be registered and ridden on New York’s existing trail systems. The outdated definition unfairly restricts the only growing segment of the off-road vehicle market, side-by-sides, from registration and off-road vehicle trail access. Currently, off-road vehicles that exceed the weight limit can only be ridden on private property or out-of-state. The current definition has not been changed since the mid-1990s, and New York’s economy and motorized recreation community is losing because of it.”

ATV definition modernization will:

• Increase the number of vehicle registrations and sales tax collected by New York State

• Enhance the New York tourism industry by hundreds of millions of dollars

• Encourage upstate tourism and attract riders from other states to New York trails and communities