Wisconsin Rapids ATV/UTV ordinance set for spring referendum vote
WISCONSIN RAPIDS − Voters will now decide whether drivers in Wisconsin Rapids will be sharing city streets with all-terrain vehicles.
The Wisconsin Rapids City Council voted 6-2 Tuesday night to create a binding referendum for an ordinance to designate most of its streets as ATV/UTV routes. The vehicles would be prohibited from highways and parks, per the ordinance’s current language.
“Where we’re at right now, we’re lacking education for the residents on what it’s going to look like on the roadways, what the ordinance is,” District 5 Alderperson Jake Cattanach said. “We need to get more public insight on this. It has all the things to it that to me say this is a referendum.”
The ordinance references state law for ATV/UTVs and mirrors nearby communities’ ordinances requiring safe operation of the off-road vehicles on roads.
The city also added a few additional requirements to its proposed ordinance including that operators need to be over the age of 16, headlights and taillights are required and open containers of alcohol are prohibited. Previous ordinance language adding a blinker requirement was removed during the meeting.
“I look at Wisconsin Rapids as being one of the only communities in Wood County that does not allow ATV/UTVs,” Mayor Shane Blaser said. “I think we need to open our community for all ages and all interests.”
Blaser has previously expressed support for the ordinance.
UTV registrations nearly doubled in Wisconsin since 2018 to over 150,000, according to DNR statistics, and ATV registrations have increased slightly as well. There are nearly 500,000 ATV/UTVs registered with the state. In 1993, there were just under 200,000.
“We are in central Wisconsin. It’s recreational, it’s hunting, it’s fishing, it’s all these other recreational things, and I think the only way we can grow is to do things differently,” Blaser said.
The ordinance will appear on the April 2 ballot for Wisconsin Rapids voters and will pass with a majority vote. The ordinance language had an effective date of Jan. 1, 2024, and it is yet to be determined how it will appear on the ballot.
ATV Ordinance: What you should know about a proposed ordinance allowing ATV traffic on Wisconsin Rapids streets
Fall Fun: Corn mazes, haunted houses, pumpkins, apples and more: Where to find fall fun in central Wisconsin.
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Reach him at epfantz@gannett.com or connect with him on Twitter @ErikPfantz.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Wisconsin Rapids ATV/UTV ordinance set for spring referendum vote
