Morristown, Vermont

Morristown votes no (1377 - 414) on allowing ATVs on town roads on December 7th (see article language below).

The Green Mountain ATV club indicated that their goal is to expand their network. If article 4 passes, expect more roads to be asked for in the future. Vote NO to article 4 and help us get out the vote!

Article 4 on December 7th Vote: 
Should the Selectboard open the following town highways to ATV travel pursuant 23 VSA 3506 b1a
  • Silver Ridge RD
  • Center RD from Hyde Park town line to intersection of upper Munson Ave
  • Trombley Hill Rd
  • Frazier Rd
  • Munson Ave from VT rt 15E to intersection of Northgate Plaza Drive
  • Northgate Plaza Drive to Northgate Plaza Parking Lot

    See What Roads Green Mountain ATV Club Wants to Make “Trails”

    Northgate Plaza Parking Lot

     

    Munson Avenue / Route 15 Crossing

    Route 15 Crossing 

    Center Road / Upper Munson 

    Trombley Hill

    Silver Ridge Road

    Screenshot Image Sources: Google Maps. 

    GMATV submitted proposals prior to the December 7, 2021 vote. Read the Proposal Submitted to the Morristown, VT Selectboard on May 25, 2021

    Map to accompany proposal below:

     

    GMATV Proposal Map of Roads 5/5/2021

     


     

     

     

    Listen to the 9/21/20 Morristown, VT Selectboard meeting to hear for yourself the scope of ATV access that has been discussed

    • The discussion of "ATVs on town roads" begins at approximately 15:40
    • Selectboard meeting minutes from 9/21/2020 are posted here

    The 9/21/20 Selectboard meeting notes below have been prepared by concerned citizens (not official meeting minutes) extracted from the publically available YouTube Audio Recording above. Here is a guide to some of the content. The timings may vary from browser to browser.

    16:50 Bridge Street and Portland Street up to Main St., Upper French Hill, Cadys Falls, Mud City Loop
    18:28 “Everything in place for the beginning of next year”
    20:18 Self-policing- Bob Beeman, Selectboard Chair, says “I know that’s a problem for a lot of reasons”. In the prior meeting the SB assured concerned citizens that the Green Mt ATV club’s self-policing would suffice.
    23:00 Trombley Hill Frazier Rd Center Rd
    24:00 Judy Bickford, Selectwoman, Asking questions about the rules – ages, helmets, insurance etc and some of the replies are not accurate. Operators can be as young as 12. If under 16 years old, the operator must be "under the direct supervision of an individual 18 years of age or older." 
    25:00 Talking about the entire village…. Not just downtown – Railroad St, Hutchins Union St, Maple St, Cost to taxpayers for signage.
    26:00 Open up Rt 12 Union St, Maple St,
    28:00 “revenue up in Newport is 70%”…
    30:05 “Getting people in town slowly accustomed to ATVs”
    30:55 Bob Beeman, Selectboard Chair, “Open a spigot slowly…”
    31:22 Gary Nolan, Selectman, is talking about how it’s taken VAST 50 years to get credibility. Talks about VASA’s path toward credibility. “We’ve been working on it for 20 years” “We’ve got to take baby steps” “You’ve got to get the population used to seeing these things on the road…”
    32:15 Oxbow parking lot in downtown Morrisville as a trailhead
    34:00 Rail trail - “Newport doesn’t need to deal with a Rail Trail. If 1 ATV goes down that Rail Trail it will be a huge problem.”
    39:00 Noise concerns - “I don’t buy the noise argument”
    40:30 Bob Beeman, Selectboard Chair, ”There’s a 2-stroke bike that goes by my house on the weekend and it annoys me”
    43:00 Brian Kellogg, Selectman, “NH is making big money on this stuff”
    __________________________________________________________

    In reference to the 9/21/2020 Selectboard meeting, the October 1, 2020 issue of the News & Citizen mentions:

    Other news: The town is also considering a change to ordinances that would allow ATVs on some town roads. Morristown previously opened a portion of one road, Silver Ridge Road, to ATVs to allow for drivers in neighboring Hyde Park the opportunity to access gas stations along Route 15.

    Now, Lindley said the town is planning to draft an ordinance that, if approved, would allow ATVs on a section of roads on the western side of town that could include the area of Mud City Loop and Cadys Falls, thereby giving people driving ATVs access to a portion of the village.

    “They’d be allowed to come into the village via Bridge and Brooklyn,” Lindley said, with the likely cutoff being the area of Upper and Lower Main streets.

    He expects Morristown’s police department will help draft the new ordinance, and emphasized that that’s all the proposal is right now, a draft.

    “None of that is approved yet,” he said, and likely wont be now until next spring or summer with ATV season now winding down.