• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

Silverton update.

Forums New posts
woodsguy

woodsguy

Ride Red
Joined
Aug 15, 2006
Messages
21,167
Reaction score
12,270
Location
Huntsville
First Name
Rob
Last Name
Vaughan
FB_IMG_1634320040973.jpg
 
Seems most of the places allow it. Never done it so not sure how it works.
 
The ATVs are very annoying there but that was the busiest I've ever seen it in years. I bet they will reverse it when tourism drops off.
 
William Wolfen said:
No surprise there. Who wants a bunch of uninsured ATVs running around the streets?
Click to expand...
Insurance and drivers license has been required for ATV and off road motorcycles in San Juan County (Silverton) and Ouray County for quite a few years. The minimum age for a rider is 16 years. The state law requires riders from 10 to 16 to be under direct supervision of an adult, but allows cities and counties to supercede the state law.
 
ntklr650 said:
The ATVs are very annoying there but that was the busiest I've ever seen it in years. I bet they will reverse it when tourism drops off.
Click to expand...
I'd take that bet. The citizens that I've spoken to are fed up with off road vehicles not abiding by the law. It only takes a few doing donuts on the dirt streets, making their own trails or speeding down a city street to ruin it for the vast majority.
 
humanrace said:
I'd take that bet. The citizens that I've spoken to are fed up with off road vehicles not abiding by the law. It only takes a few doing donuts on the dirt streets, making their own trails or speeding down a city street to ruin it for the vast majority.
Click to expand...
I agree, money isn't in the picture.
 
Prior to the 10/12/21 vote:

At this time, OHVs/ATVs/Unlicensed Motorcycles are ALLOWED to operate within the Town of Silverton during the Summer of 2021. We continue to ask that all OHVs/ATVs/Unlicensed Motorcycles continue to adhere to the rules and regulations set forth by the Model Traffic Code and the Town of Silverton.
 
I'm not surprised the opening up of Silverton to public street use for UTV/ATV use didn't last. It was already a heavily congested environment with existing street legal vehicles and pedestrian use. It's a small footprint. You add in quite a few "jackwagons" in loud UTV's, and it didn't take long for folks to see it wouldn't work. This type of application of UTV/ATV use on public roads can work just fine in some locations. I just don't think Silverton was the place.

And those thinking the economy there will suffer, don't believe it. People with UTV/ATV's have street legal vehicles that they used to haul their toys to the area. They will do like they always have and drive those vehicles to restaurants, shopping, etc. And while this prohibition also applies to off-road-only motorcycles, that is a low bar to get around for us. I hate having only a non-street-legal dirt bike when I go out west or anywhere. You can't jump on the highway to make trail loop connections. You have to haul the bike to a trailhead, etc., etc. We can have plated dirt bikes, and many of these bikes are about as capable as any serious off-road-only dirt bike. It shouldn't affect any two-wheel folks to a serious degree.
 
  • Like
Reactions: my6
This doesn't surprise me. Last time I was there, I saw a LOT of ATVs on the streets, some not being particularly careful. From a business standpoint, I understand why they allowed them on the streets - certainly must have been good for the rental business. But for some folks who were obviously on ATVs for the first time, common sense seemed to go out the window.
 
Yep. I am betting that overall bus has suffered with the onslaught of ATV-SxS's. Been going to Silverton/Ouray since the 70s, much prefer the vintage Silverton. Very much.
 
Silverton has the train and it feeds their revenue stream in no minor way. There is a crazy amount of pedestrian traffic in town and very few streets for all of them...it's doggone crowded. The atv thing around there has gone nuts over the last few years with developments north of town catering to that crowd and rental places in town turning totally unskilled folks loose on quad toys. That's just a toxic mix and disaster sure to happen. They pretty much turned a blind eye to dirt bikes way before ATV's got the green light...maybe we'll see how that works again.
 
So yeah. And I am a taxpayer in San Juan County, CO. We did a ATV rental tour mid-September above and around Silverton. Second year in a row for me. I am not surprised: the issues are complex but come down to locals just fed up with ATVs in town, and also tearing up the off road areas that are off limits. The economy will suffer. Off road bikes are an issue also, but not as many as ATVs.

The Forest Service has been stepping up enforcement also. Silverton culture is pretty independent!
 
Tigerkf said:
I don't think non plated ATVs or dirt bikes should be allowed on a public street anywhere!
Click to expand...
The county roads in rural Texas aew full of four wheelers. I see them everyday in my area and sometimes all night long. Some use them for work vehicles.
The law turns a blind eye in the country. Big cities like Austin have those electric schooters zipping on sidewalks and streets.
Does Silverton allow bycicles on the streets?
 
Tigerkf said:
I don't think non plated ATVs or dirt bikes should be allowed on a public street anywhere!
Click to expand...
Its a big problem here in Ellis county. 20 years ago a 4 wheeler on the road was a guaranteed ticket, now 8 and 10 year olds ride all over the county on them as well as daddys side by side. At bare minimum they should be required to have drivers training and insurance.
 
Tim Scholz said:
Its a big problem here in Ellis county. 20 years ago a 4 wheeler on the road was a guaranteed ticket, now 8 and 10 year olds ride all over the county on them as well as daddys side by side. At bare minimum they should be required to have drivers training and insurance.
Click to expand...
You said it well.
 
I have a small cabin in Silverton. The UTV traffic had escalated to point where it was painful. As someone who enjoyed driving my UTV in Silverton, I was in favor of going back to not allowing them. I am ok just driving my Jeep and plated dirt bikes around town and trailering my UTV to the trails.
 
I ride to Silverton from Albuquerque several times each summer and I never paid much attention. Of course, we go for lunch or just traveling through so maybe we hit it at the wrong time. If I lived there I wouldn't want four wheel looneys flying around either.
 
I understand Moab, UT is getting less tolerant of UTV's as well. No doubt banning them from city streets will impact tourism. Maybe the locals are willing to accept that vs. the noise and liability of all the unlicensed vehicles in their streets.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top