Some thoughts on the Sutton ATV vote.

I think there are two options.  Continue on the path of cornering each other and ratcheting up the nasty, or try to find a middle ground.  I've tried to brain storm up something that I think would address some key issues. I'd rather not ratchet up the nasty and force issues but it appears to be the only way to get things done nowadays.

For me this vote isn't just about ATV's- it's looking at the potential impact for any user group on the residents of a town and trying to put in a systemof halts before too much negative impact is reached.


The key points I would hope to address are:

Facilitate enforcement
Create a live and let live situation
Foster a cooperative stewardship of the land.

Facilitate enforcement:
VAST, VASA and Kingdom Trails all have use that is contingent upon landowner generosity.  Does that contingency- that if misused the privilege will be taken away- modify user behavior for the better?  I think it does.  I think it also increases peer pressure, which is good- it's easier to govern from within than from outside the group.  I think that without it- as simply opening the roads would do- the patrols and policing would need to be greater, and overall misuse would be even higher.

Create a live and let live situation:
Neither the want for ATV use nor the impact are equal in all areas of Sutton.  As long as some basic town liability protections are put in place, I see no need for one person on one side of the town to be able to force this issue on someone who lives on the other side of town. Some areas will see far more use than others- which might be hard to predict.  We're seeing use issues here in the Kingdom that have resulted in local in-group members feeling pushed out and/or bullied.  It seems that once things have gone too far, there is no crying Uncle- the bar of progress never moves back. 

Foster a cooperative stewardship of the land:
People who don't live in Vermont aren't aware of our history of public use of private land.  I've had many conversations with people who refuse to believe it even exists, let alone works.  Use we take for granted would get Vermonters shot in other areas of the United States.  Because outsiders don't know or fully appreciate what it has to offer them, they don't value it, or even really see it.  And because we tend to take it for granted it sometimes crosses the line from being a mutual extension of tolerance and assistance to one of feeling entitled.  Friction has been present for years. Any avenue for neighbors to reach out to neighbors- a potential excuse to remind someone that we're all human, face to face, needs to be encouraged.

Officially, my advice for the town would be to wait on this whole issue and let some of the other user group issues we're having in this area simmer down. 

Secondly, this is how I would address things:

1- Establish a volunteer ATV trail coordinator for the town.
2- ATV use is for Sutton residents only- an annual permit to be purchased for $20, a large sticker to be affixed to the ATV.
3- Residents may petition to have their road opened to ATV use when 80%of the registered voters who have homesteads on that road agree that it should be opened.
4- If any road is considered to be negatively impacted, a 50% registered voter agreement closes it.
5- Roads that are opened are open to all Sutton residents and will be marked approximately every 200' with small signs. (Money collected from permits goes towards the signs and stickers- any funds left over would remain for ATV use only)

So essentially, it creates the potential for a trail system within the town, as long as the residents of each road are OK with it.

 I don't want for people to not have fun- I just don't want it to come at my expense and I value my peace and quiet above most everything else.  When people are cornered, as I feel cornered now, they become less generous and downright nasty.  How to make me feel not cornered? Build in a cry for Uncle for me.  A way for me to retain autonomy in my life.  My house is less than 60' from the road, a pair of ATV's screaming by results in exhaust fumes in my living room.  I'm sure a conga line of them, even responsibly ridden, will result in the same.  Why is that OK? I grew up in this area, I earned every cent I've ever made here- isn't there some way to find some mutual respect?