ATV bills would tighten enforcement, create riding parks

Farmer is worried his son will never have the experiences he did growing up riding ATVs because the proposed bill prohibits children younger than 14 from riding on publicly funded land.

That would exclude young riders from the three proposed new parks and the Egg Harbor Police Athletic League, which offers Saturday ATV-riding classes for children ages 6 and up.

"If my 6-year-old has to wait until he's 14, he may not be interested anymore," Farmer said. "Over a few generations, they'll eliminate the whole sport."

DeVito said there had been an unwritten agreement between environmental and ATV groups that if environmentalists supported the parks bill, ATV enthusiasts would support the enforcement bill.

"They've lied to me up and down," he said. "I'm done working with them."

Gusciora said the failure of both bills to pass last month meant he would spend the summer bringing both sides back together.

"It's a complicated issue," he said. "We need to redouble our efforts to get all stakeholders on the same page."

Contact staff writer Wallace McKelvey at 856-779-3917 or wmckelvey@phillynews.com.