Hey ClickFixers, time to start writing and e mailing the mayor’s office. Read below for details on the coalition to Stop Illegal Traffic (SIT)

New Haven Coalition to Stop Illegal Traffic

The New Haven Coalition to STOP ILLEGAL TRAFFIC (SIT) on our streets had its second meeting on Sept. 18. Alderman Justin Elicker reported that since our meeting last month, the city has started a concerted effort to address the issue of dangerous and illegal use of dirt bikes, all terrain vehicles, and other illegal motorized vehicles on our streets. Currently, police do not have the authority to seize and hold illegally operated motorized bikes and ATVs. Therefore, violators can reclaim impounded vehicles shortly after being caught by paying a small fine to the towing company.
On September 18, 2012, SIT members decided that the quickest way to make our streets safer is to rally the community in support empowering the city to take more aggressive actions against illegally operated dirt bikes and ATVs.

What the city is doing:
1. The Corporation Counsel (the lawyer for the city) has been directed to explore the legality of the city taking possession of non-registered dirt bikes, atvs, etc. that have been operated illegally and destroying them. Other enforcement ordinances are also being explored.
2. The City is in conversation with state legislators about state-level action.

What Coalition members and supporters are being asked to do:
a. Call the Office of the Mayor (203)946-8200 and tell the Mayor that you are concerned about this issue and that you want results by next summer 2013.
or
b. Write to the Mayor at MayorDestefano@newhavenct.net. You may want to include the following points:
“I am a concerned citizen who is frustrated by the increase in use of illegally operated dirt bikes and ATVs on New Haven streets, inside New Haven Parks, and near playgrounds and other recreation areas. It is my understanding that the NHPD has a long standing no-chase policy, which I agree with given the chances that a chase could result in injury of an innocent bystander. However, more needs to be done. I support the city’s effort to create policies that will eliminate the reckless behavior before someone else is killed. We’ve had many close calls already in 2012; a little girl was hit by a dirt biker while waiting at a bus stop with her dad, and a dirt biker himself suffered life-threatening injuries after losing control of an unregistered illegally operated dirt bike. Please, do what is necessary. You have my support!"

Thanks @Fairhavener for the disturbing videos and info about the SIT program. Do you know whether the Mayor will/can take into account "votes" on seeclickfix ? I think for many - asking them to click vote is easier and more transparent to everyone than email to his inbox.

@Frank: I would hope so, there are enough people on here that have voted to resolve this issue. However, as you can see some of these issues are sometimes 2--3-4 years old--the problem is still going on each day. No long lasting resolution has been achieved, which is why we are trying a different strategy to make sure we are being heard by our City's top officials. We are tired of calling the police literally hundreds of times with no long term results. There are joyrides going up and down main streets on our City (downtown included--seen them there too) at all times of the day nearly every day; in front of schools, inside parks near playgrounds, etc.

S.I.T. is simply a group of about 10 residents from as many neighborhoods with no political ties getting together through word of mouth, that have decided to as a community help the city find a long term sustainable solution to this growing problem. Currently, police do not have the authority to seize and hold illegally operated motorized bikes and ATVs. Therefore, violators can reclaim impounded vehicles shortly after being caught by paying a small fine to the towing company. We find that this, coupled with a no-chase policy (which we agree with since, high speed chases are risky for all involved) leads to a non-ending cycle of dangerous behavior.

@Frank: I would hope so, there are enough people on here that have voted to resolve this issue. However, as you can see some of these issues are sometimes 2--3-4 years old--the problem is still going on each day. No long lasting resolution has been achieved, which is why we are trying a different strategy to make sure we are being heard by our City's top officials. We are tired of calling the police literally hundreds of times with no long term results. There are joyrides going up and down main streets on our City (downtown included--seen them there too) at all times of the day nearly every day; in front of schools, inside parks near playgrounds, etc.

S.I.T. is simply a group of about 10 residents from as many neighborhoods with no political ties getting together through word of mouth, that have decided to as a community help the city find a long term sustainable solution to this growing problem. Currently, police do not have the authority to seize and hold illegally operated motorized bikes and ATVs. Therefore, violators can reclaim impounded vehicles shortly after being caught by paying a small fine to the towing company. We find that this, coupled with a no-chase policy (which we agree with since, high speed chases are risky for all involved) leads to a non-ending cycle of dangerous behavior.

@Fairhavener - glad you agree that seeclickfix might be a useful tool to petition the Mayor and City Hall. You have my vote! If the rest of the SIT group voted, that would be at least 11 visible votes ;-)

I think the group is making a huge mistake not simultaneously advocating for a patch of accessible land for New Haven ATV and Dirt bike violators to ride legally. I am not a big fan of that, but recognize that the best of all possible solutions, realistically, includes this in conjunction with the institution of policies and laws allowing confiscation of these vehicles for riding on the roads.

I also have a question about the statute quoted in the NHI today: Section 29-133e, among a set of laws covering “mini cycles,” a category that includes “Pocketbikes, mini bikes, mini cycles, mini sport bikes, mini motorcycles, mini dirt bikes, chopper scooters, motor scooters, bicycles with helper motors.” The ordinance states that police officers who catch people riding mini cycles on city streets may take the bike “into the custody of the New Haven Police Department, at the owner’s expense, pending a disposition of such property by court order or otherwise by law and proof of ownership…”

Does that mean Vespas as well? It says "motor scooters." There are tons of minus-50cc scooters like Vespas in New Haven that I thought were legal. Or what about the friend of mine that has a tiny motor (I mean tiny, with very little power) attached to a regular bicycle, which I also thought was legal? And where in the law does it even mention three and four wheel off-road-only vehicles like the ATVs that are tearing all over town, often in groups of both ATVs and dirt bikes?

PS - I think the ordinance needs to be streamlined if it includes Vespa type scooters, for example, and needs to include ATVs. Remember, when there was a rash of gun-slinging gangs on bicycles a few years ago? The PD went overboard on the bicycle laws, hammering every bicyclist in town as if they were felons solely because they wanted to address this handful of gangs. the courthouse was throwing these collateral cases out as fast as they could, they were so annoying.

It seems whenever police get a new tool to handle a problem, they use the shotgun method --they target the problem and everyone with this new enforcement tool. So I just want to make sure that this ordinance doesn't come down, or can't be interpreted by cops as allowing, crack downs on completely non-threatening scooters etc.

I don't want to trade one quality of life problem for a solution that impinges on the quality of life of people using scooters and so on. We don't need the stress of indiscriminate enforcement bonanzas. We need a rule and policy targeting dirt bikes and ATVs. They are the problem

Here is another example of just the kind of thing we should avoid. This is an excerpt from a comment on the NHI story today:

"The other thing is that New Haven should be lobbying our state reps to require ANY motorized vehicle (ANY) to be registered with the DMV. The under 150CC not having to be registered is an open door for interpreting the rules of our road in different ways. "

I think this was inaccurate in that I think it is under 50cc, not 150cc, but here we have someone advocating a new layer of regulation, new duties and burdens and new costs on a class of riders who are NOT the problem: A Vespa, for example, under 50cc does not need to be registered or insured in Connecticut. You see them all over New Haven, operating safely. THis is an affordable, energy efficient mode of transportation that is attractive to people who can not or do not want to spend money insuring and maintaining and registering an automobile.

In all my years living in New Haven or anywhere else, I have not heard or read a single complaint about a scooter driver -- not one. Yet, because we have kids on dirt bikes and ATVs, yet again, people come out of the woodwork advocating the punishment and taxing of innocent people who are actually part of the solution! Does anyone know the mileage one gets on a Vespa on a gallon of gas? and how much less pollution they create over cars?????

I do think that since this group is taking the lead, it is not enough for you to get the ordinance, you need to insure that it is precise as well. Don't go around declaring you got a victory using a blunt blade when you owe it to all of us to use a scalpel, to be intelligent.

@ Guest: I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I don't even think most of these riders have an interest in having a patch of accessible land to ride on legally. Based on what I've seen all over New Haven and particularly where I live in Fair Haven, part of the thrill seems to be intimidating the cars, pedestrians, bicyclists, and generally anyone within range by zipping around everyone dangerously, going the wrong-way one-way streets, popping wheelies, and riding in packs dangerously while frequently being filmed by a trailing car. Our taxes in New Haven are astronomical already, and I assume the proposed track would have to be built with taxpayer's money, which I don't support. Also, wouldn't there be substantial liability issues to consider?

Dear Tired,

I have been rethinking that part of my post and acknowledge there are problems with taking it on. First, none of these kids would buy trailers to get to there, they would ride the streets there.

Secondly, it would have to be a private sector project, not tax-payer funded.

The guy who owns the ATV dirt bike dealership on Whalley, for instance, could start one and rent the bikes and ATV's to use on it.

Meanwhile, we do need a law against them. I am just really personally sick and tired of badly written laws and exploitatively enforced ones -- I don't want to see one middle-aged Sunday driver on a Vespa paying more or getting grief from cops because a dirt bike law spilled over onto them.

So please, write it well, because there is no guarantee that if it isn't, it will be enforced right.

I have revised my thinking on this. I think it is too much to ask the group to accomplish both a track and an ordinance.

Where'd my comment go? I posted a response. Well in case it doesn't show up, I wrote to say I have rethought my opinion that the group should simultaneously advocate for a track somewhere where people could legally ride. I acknowledge it is unrealistic. I wouldn't want it funded by tax payers anyway, but by private enterprise.

I stand by my exhortation though to make sure the ordinance is properly written.

I've tried three times to respond to your comment, "tired of playing .." and the comment is not taking. I have changed my mind about the park/track - it is asking too much. I would be happy with a well-written ordinance where law abiding people are not burdened by the activities of these children of incredibly incomprehensible parents !

Guest, thanks for your thoughtful, articulate comments. I'm glad I don't appear to have offended you, because that was definitely not my intent. I agree that any new ordinance/law should be very specific and take into account everything necessary to put an end to illegal dirt bikes and ATVs on city streets. I think stiffer consequences for those riding on city streets are definitely in order, but I'm not really sure what our options are.

IT was either a comment on NHI or somewhere on SCF someone mentioned what Baltimore did and I was pretty blown away. They not only confiscate dirt bikes and ATVs, it is illegal to establish an ATV/dirt bike dealership in the city. That's what the comment said anyway.

A HUGE player in the unregistered dirtbike underground got arrested this morning......

@ Paula, will it be in the news?

@tired.....do a search for city point new haven ct on seeclickfix main page.....after you find our area, do a search for illegal dirtbikes. Wow, you will not believe what we had to go through down here.

@Paula great work there in City Point, I also applaud the excellent detailed comments from concerned residents:
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/356-illegal-use-of-off-road-vehicles#comments

Tired of this issue? Then show your support this Tuesday 11/13 @ 6 p.m., all should attend, no excuses! If not you, and us, then who? Tell everyone you know and bring them along if needed--lets pack the room, this may be our only chance for this type of City-wide meeting. Please distribute widely.

via Alderman Justin Elicker:
"There will be a public hearing on the dirt bike ATV issue Tuesday, 11/13 at 6pm in Board of Aldermen Chambers at City Hall. It's an opportunity for people to express their concerns about the dirt bike issue and for the City to talk about what we plan on doing. Could you all help get the word out?"

This issue was recategorized from Other to Policing Issue.

the same problem has been going on for 2-3-4 years without resolution? Something sounds smutty here.

Sick and tired of the unregistered, uninsured, unlicensed, vroomm-vroomm-vrooomm? Then sign the petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/state-of-connecticut-general-assembly-new-haven-office-of-the-mayor-stop-the-use-of-illegally-operated-vehicles-on-new-haven-streets-and-parks

I will be closing dirt bike/ATV complaints that pre-date the conclusion of the police undercover operation (see www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/9_arrested_in_dirt_bike_sting/). I do not expect the dirt bike/ATV issue to be completely solved, but it will be helpful to policing efforts to distinguish new reports from those before this recent operation.

Please open up new SCF issues as dirt bike/ATV issues re-occur.

- Rob Smuts, Chief Administrative Officer