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City considers allowing ATVs

Clintonville committee to review proposed ordinance

By Bert Lehman


The city of Clintonville is considering allowing ATVs and UTVs on city streets.

After discussing the topic at several of its meetings, the Streets Committee, at its Jan. 7 meeting, approved sending a draft of the proposed ordinance to the city’s Safety and Ordinance Committee.

The proposed ordinance would allow ATVs and UTVs on all city streets, with the exception of Main Street, U.S. Highway 45 and State Highway 22.

City staff drafted the proposed ordinance following the Dec. 3 Streets Committee meeting.

Dec. 3 meeting

The Streets Committee discussed a possible ordinance allowing ATV and UTV traffic at its December meeting.

During that discussion, committee member Brandon Braden said someone requested golf carts also be included in a proposed ordinance. He said he does not think a golf cart is more dangerous to the operator than an ATV.

“If anything, they would be quieter than an ATV or UTV,” Braden said.

City Attorney Keith Steckbauer said golf carts are an entity all by themselves, and regulated differently than ATVs and UTVs.

“I think they should be on the table, but they are a different animal than ATVs and UTVs,” Steckbauer said.

Committee Chair Jim Supanich, who was in favor of allowing ATV and UTV traffic on city streets, said the city already has the start to an ATV road in the city, extending from Lyon Street to County Trunk I.

“The group that is involved with that is working with the DOT because there’s a right-of-way that goes all the way to Bear Creek, but it’s held up because there’s two farms that are supposedly claiming ownership of part of that right of way,” Supanich said. “They’re kind of fighting the whole deal. So, depending on what happens with those two farms, we might have an ATV trail that goes right from Lyon Street in the city, all the way out to Bear Creek.”

City Administrator Sharon Eveland said she is not “a fan” of allowing ATVs and UTVs on city streets, but understands why people are requesting that these vehicles be allowed to use city streets.

She “strongly” suggested those vehicles be prohibited from U.S. 45 and State 22.

“That does tend to be the worst areas for traffic and speed,” Eveland said.

Steckbauer said he contacted an attorney from Rhinelander who drafted an ordinance pertaining to ATVs and UTVs on city streets.

Before drafting that ordinance, Steckbauer said that attorney contacted the police chief and public works director in the city and asked, “What are our concerns for regulation? And what should the mapping be?”

That city is now considering allowing those vehicles on busier streets in the city, Steckbauer said.

“They’re taking their experience and adapting it,” Steckbauer said. “But the approach, I thought was nice, of allowing public works and the police department to come to the council and say, ‘This is the map that we think makes sense, and these are our proposed regulations.’”

Steckbauer suggested Clintonville’s Public Works and Police departments be consulted about an ordinance and map of where the vehicles would be allowed.

Police Chief Craig Freitag said he was in favor of allowing the vehicles on city streets, but not on U.S. 45.

“I think we can make it work, a good trail route through the city so that somebody could get to the north end from the south end without hitting Highway 45,” Freitag said. “I think we can put something together that would be a good benefit to the city.”

Proposed ordinance

Drivers of ATVs and UTVs would be required to have insurance and a driver’s license to use city streets.

Children would not be allowed to drive their own ATV or UTV, even if they are in the line of sight of their parents.

The hope is to have an approved ordinance by spring.

“I think we’ve come up with a really good plan, and I think it’s something hopefully Safety and Ordinance will pass and we’ll have this opportunity here in Clintonville,” Steve Kettenhoven, a member of the Streets Committee, said at the Jan. 7 meeting.

Golf carts are not included in the proposed ordinance.

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