is lack of places to
legally ride the vehicles
Use of ATVs at park
subject of boro dispute
Riders say problem
is lack of places to
legally ride the vehicles
BY JOLENE HART
Staff Writer
SAYREVILLE — An ongoing dispute between off-road vehicle riders and neighbors of the land they traverse may have no easy solution.
However, borough officials are now faced with the issue, since it has become a point of contention between outdoor enthusiasts at the Julian L. Capik Nature Preserve and those who ride the off-road vehicles (ORVs) in that park. Some claim the disturbances and potential damage from ORVs make it hard to maintain the peace in the valuable sanctuary.
The use of ORVs such as all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) is prohibited in places like the Capik Preserve, which is off Bordentown Avenue, and signs throughout the park state that the riding of such vehicles is not permitted.
However, leaving nature alone is not an easy request. As residents of a state that features a high concentration of urban and suburban areas and a dense population, residents value their rural preserves and, naturally, all want a share of them.
ORV riders state that there are not enough places to legally operate their ATVs or dirt bikes in the state, causing them to resort to riding on private or park land. It just happens that the Capik Preserve has become one of the favored destinations of local riders.
"If there were more ORV parks, New Jersey would save itself a lot of trouble. Police would be able to take manpower and focus it on the real criminals," said Rob Mauceri, a borough resident and an ATV rider for 10 years.
The only ORV park in the state, said Mauceri, is in the pine barrens of Chatsworth. Named the New Jersey Off-Road Vehicle Park, it costs riders $50 a day to use the land.
"It’s very expensive," Mauceri said.
ORV riders reacted angrily to a guest column published in the Suburban last week in which the writer characterized those who ride in the preserve as "criminals."
"If more land would be opened up for us to ride, it would give us some place to go," said Joe Hayes, a Sayreville resident and five-year ATV rider.
"This is a popular activity here. I see younger kids riding with their parents all the time," Hayes said.
Without the means or manpower to track down every ORV rider who uses the preserve, the trespassing problem largely goes unmonitored, said Sayreville Police Detective Mathew Bandurski.
Over the weekend, however, police stepped up patrol at the Capik Preserve and issued summonses to seven riders, Bandurski said. Only one of the seven riders was a borough resident. The majority of the riders were between 30 and 40 years of age, he said.
The summonses, which are for trespassing, can carry a $500 fine, said Bandurski.
In his guest column last week, Sayreville resident Daniel A. Maliszewski pressed for police and borough officials to do something about the problem with ATV usage at the park. Noting a number of concerns, he said the park has become unusable for nonriders many times on the weekends and that the riding is "hazardous to Sayreville’s children, families, fishermen, hikers and seniors."
The mayor and Borough Council were expected to address the issue during a meeting at Borough Hall yesterday evening.