Dirt bikes may be coming to your neighborhood soon!
by Daniel Pritchett
In December 2011 I called attention to a proposal to use Bishop City Park as a staging area for Off- Highway Vehicles (OHVs) under the new Adventure Trails program. This proposal was so bad I had hoped it would not be taken seriously. Silly me!
Some Inyo County Supervisors not only take this proposal seriously, they recently decided to initiate work on an Environmental Impact Report for for it. Under the Adventure Trails program certain county roads and (Bishop) city streets will be opened up for Green Sticker (dirt bikes, quads, ATV’s etc…) vehicle use. There are many proposed routes and several go through residential areas in Bishop (including my own). One proposed route would use the Bishop Chamber of Commerce as a staging area. This means after disturbing people in their homes in residential areas, Green Sticker dirt bikers could proceed to disturb people at Bishop City Park. What a great idea!
County supervisors shouldn’t need an EIR to recognize this proposal for what it is: bad planning, pure and simple. The purpose of residential zoning is to preserve the residential character and quality of life of a neighborhood. Turning residential streets into corridors for dirt bike through-traffic defeats the purpose of residential zoning. Turning Bishop City Park into an OHV staging area defeats the purpose of a city park. If the proposal is implemented a few businesses will profit at the expense of the peace and quiet of many of their neighbors and users of Bishop City Park. The fact that such an unfair idea is taken seriously is testimony to the disproportionate influence of OHV enthusiasts at all levels of government.
OHV enthusiasts already have access to many miles of off-highway routes accessible without driving through residential neighborhoods. The Adventure Trails program won’t open any new back-country areas — it will simply allow Green Sticker drivers to disturb people they would not otherwise be able to disturb: people in their own homes and at Bishop City Park. I can’t think of a better way for OHV enthusiasts to generate ill-will toward their activities.
If there are any people left who share the old fashioned view that residential neighborhoods should maintain their residential character, and Bishop City Park should remain a park, I suggest they contact Inyo County Supervisors and Bishop City Council-members immediately.
Daniel Pritchett Bishop, CA
Mark….You have to see it through the eyes of Law Enforcement too…..If there is a report of a prowler,or a report of a crime,and when they come upon the scene and happen to see someone walking in the area of the report,I’m doubting the person that was maybe the culperit… Read more »
I agree Wayne, but without knowing there was an actually report of a prolwer I’m accusing LEO’s of making that stuff up just so they can violate citizens rights. It happens all the time I had a cop tell me just last night he and his co-worker duputies were warriors.… Read more »
Mark….I agree with you.. some are bad-apples….I’ve had to deal with a couple that were way out of line with me….and over-stepping their boundries…… Long ago,I once knew a Sheriff in the Antelope Valley that told me the reason he chose that profession was to “maybe someday legally blow someone… Read more »
Original meaning of bad apples was that one threatened the whole supply and should be removed. As long as police protect their rotten coworkers they are all tainted. I once helped a drunk driver who ran off road and wrecked in remote area get medical help. Driver called cops on… Read more »
Exaggerate much. I have been doing business and shopping down there for many years with no problems. I own two properties east of Hwy 14 in Lancaster and they are in the nicest townhouse complex in the valley. There are lots of very nice properties in Lancaster on both sides… Read more »
I’m not exaggerating at all, I dare you to go out after dark. . Someone broke in and beat a 60 year old man to death in Palmdale Saturday night. Two armed home invasions in Lancaster the night before. The list goes on just read the Antelope Valley Times on… Read more »
I walk my dog at night with my fiancee through Lancaster neighborhoods in the vicinity of 10th St. East/Challenger Bl. over to 15 East and between J and K almost every weekend and have never had a problem. I patronize shopping in that area all the time. Superior Grocers on… Read more »
Highly biased 🙂 Yes, I know a little bit about it, probably from living there for 50 years. They had an arsonist catch the linen isle on fire at the Walmart on East Ave J just last week. There was a couple shootings there last week also. 8 years ago… Read more »
Desert Tortoise….I used to live in Lancaster for 29 years….from 1962….when it was a quiet LITTLE place to live…. thru 1991..when the people from L.A. were coming and the area went to pot…..Since I’ve been in the Owens Valley,I’ve gone down there just a few times in 13+ years,and can’t… Read more »
and btw, the Antelope Valley sheriff station is the busiest station in Los Angeles county. They are over 350 tags a day. and now I have gotten so far off topic I had to scroll up to see what area I was posting this in. Enough of the A.V. down… Read more »
The sheriffs manufacture a “crime wave”. They initiate stops so they can show a contact on their data base, even if the person being stopped didn’t do anything wrong. I am one of those statistics btw, in San Diego County however, where a deputy stopped and friked me for walking… Read more »
“searched me and my bag, rifled through my wallet, took my money out of my pocket.” Desert Tortoise PLEASE exercise your constitutional rights regarding illegal search if that ever happens again. You do not have to show id or allow them to search if you’re just walking down the street.… Read more »
I did. I sued the officers and the department and lost. They trotted out their “data” showing all the stops they “have” to make in my neighborhood, claimed that someone had called about a prowler earlier in the neighborhood and used that as their excuse to jack me up. The… Read more »
DT – That’s disgusting but believable. If someone called about a prowler they would have a record of the call and the dispatch. Just because someone reported a prowler doesn’t mean you’re a suspect unless you matched a description. It doesn’t give them free reign to violate everyone’s rights in… Read more »
It wasn’t the OHV’ers that screwed up the Antelope valley. It was all the section 8 housing.
Do not go East of the 14 freeway in the Antelope Valley you will get raped, robbed, or murdered.
Mark….Not just East of HWY 14……..Quartz Hill too…used to be a nice,quiet little suburb of Lancaster or Palmdale…..not anymore….go up to Quartz Hill Mountain now,unless that too has been developed,park your car and look at the Antelope Valley lights at night,and a good chance you’ll end up robbed,duct-taped to a… Read more »
Don’t blame mosquito for stagnant pond. Section 8 vouchers can be accepted by owners or not. Friend got into nice Santa Monica neighborhood with voucher after passing same rigid screening as other tenants. Slumlords and unwise investors accepting undesirable tenants to profit or cover their ass are the real welfare… Read more »
As an off road enthusiast myself, I am happy with the number of riders on the trails now. Do we really want Coyote to be the next Jawbone Canyon? This program is really about bringing in LA riders to increase business for a few places such as Golden State Cycle… Read more »
I have to question how many people will want to drive the 120 miles further pass Jawbone to come to Bishop?
I don’t think we’re going to see the increase in OHV’ers that you think.
Just my opinion.
I think you are correct Mark. I can see one of the most used campgrounds in southern Inyo from my house. I talk to many of the OHV and other equipment riders all the time. The vast majority of the riders here are, and have been for a long time,… Read more »
Bring up old stuff much? Besides, when was the last time you visited the Race Track playa? Sorry to disappoint you, but the “problem” HAS repeated itself. You’ll find tire tracks all across the racetrack playa and evidence of idiots spinning donuts, etc. …the thing is, the abusers aren’t motorcycles… Read more »
@Mark
How many people drive all the way to Mammoth just to ski or fish? I would expect to see quite a few people willing to drive the extra distance. Especially considering the places further south are ridiculously crowded already.
One’s choices to ski and fish are much more limited then OHV’ers choices to ride off road. You probably drive by the Jawbone Canyon store and see the placed packed and think the entire area is just as crowded. Well that’s not the case at all, the area East of… Read more »
Randsburg, Glamis, Pismo, Jawbone, Redrock/Dove Springs, Red Mountain, El Mirage, the list goes on and I’ve ridden all of them in the past. All very crowded IMO. I think it would be naive to expect little impact to the Bishop area from this proposed change. Whether one thinks those impacts… Read more »
Bishop Native……If I were you,not to worry much…this “Adventure Trails System” isn’t going to bring in the “millions of dollars per Summer weekend” that poster claimed it would with his comical post a few months back.The So Calers aren’t going to make a 250-300 mile b-line from L.A. to have… Read more »
I live on Hanby and I couldn’t be more thrilled that Bishop and the Owens Valley is allowing OHV riders to come into town. Mr Pritchett certainly does not speak for all the Hanby owners and I strongly dispute most of his personal opinions he has expressed here.
Daniel– You live on Hanby right next to Yaney St behind the park. From having attended many soccer games in those fields adjacent to your home I am qualified to state that the noise generated by regular noisy cars and trucks going right in front of your house is already… Read more »
just dont run over any old cans,lots of $$$$ in off road segment
Shocking discovery: “the Trails program won’t open any new back country areas”! Gosh, opening new areas is not part of the proposal, neither was ocean sports fishing, why didn’t you bring that up too? It’s just as irrelevant? You also failed to include in your propagandizing diatribe the fact that… Read more »
Inyo County Supes??
Why would they have any jurisdiction over the streets within the city of Bishop?
That aside, maybe a trial period should be considered. Then allow the voters of Bishop decide at the conclusion of the trial period.
We the People are finally starting to realize how much power our elected officials have. Most are businessmen who are in it for themselves and their cronies, can do an amazing amount of corrupt damage before they are voted out (4 years?), and they know it. We must be more… Read more »
Daniel Pritchett…..Everything you say is 100 % correct….plus lots of other negatives this is going to bring onto city streets,city parks,quiet neighborhoods,among other things….but with the support it has gotten by some that see it as an increase in the all-mighty $$$ to the area….which isn’t going to be nearly… Read more »
100% Wayne, really? Let’s examine that number; “This means after disturbing people in their homes in residential areas, Green Sticker dirt bikers could proceed to disturb people at Bishop City Park.” Please show me ANY line in the proposed law that says anyone will be allowed to break any current… Read more »
No rider in Ridgecrest is permitted to break noise regulations, but they routinely do, sometimes on the lot right next to your house. Legal? No, but they do not care and the police seem to feel they have bigger fish to fry than to worry about motocross and non street… Read more »
Russ….Oh,gosh no,I’m not saying Law Enforcement isn’t doing their job now,or if they happen to see the 13 year old or the 25 year old unlicensed speeders zipping through the streets or HWY.395 at night….or daytime,I’m sure they will stop them,and issue a warning or citation….but I know of some… Read more »
WD,
Speeding truckers, drunk tailgating skiers in SUVs, and the size of local pickups ought to eliminate the idiots pretty quickly.
I’m happy to see Bishop catering to the OHV crowd. Develop a space for them out Millpond way or elsewhere. just keep them away from Mono County!
If the person that wrote the article and whomever came up with the park staging area idea new anything about OHV’ers they would know the park isn’t an area they would want to stage in. They actually want a place to camp, have a camp fire and enjoy getting out… Read more »
Ever heard of DUAL SPORT BIKES? They are dirt bikes that are street legal. In fact Bishop is a location of a District 37 AMA dual sport ride. Which brings hundreds of people to town in October for 3 days, renting hotels, eating out…… as far as disturbing the peace;… Read more »
Green Sticker registered vehicles cannot be street ridden and most cannot be converted to street legal motorcycles. A lot of Honda XR owers found that out the hard way when the state pulled their street registrations or refused to register them after the owners thought they had succeeded in making… Read more »
Wrong. They can, and still are “converted” for street use – legally. I’ll leave the details to your overactive imagination, however. Even though we’re happy that the Adventure Trail system is on it’s way, we also encourage all dirtbike owners to look into street conversion as a viable alternative. As… Read more »
As of 2006 that is not true. No motorcycle manufactured for off road use may be registered for the street. Period. If they were manufactured to meet ARB and EPA regulations they would be manufactured as street legal motorcycles. Neither EPA nor ARB permit off road conversions and they are… Read more »
Thanks for the legal lessons… So are you talking about California here, or just making generalizations about the whole United States? Please be specific. As the saying goes, “there’s more than one way to skin a tortoise.” Despite what you’ve read on the interwebs, you CAN still register off highway… Read more »
DT, Dude, the very first motorcycles were “dual sport” as the roads sucked or didn’t exist. Heck, even Hondas Trail 90 beats you by a decade or two. This pilot program requires license and insurance and as Bishop is talking about using it for more state enforcement grants, they probably… Read more »
No one was building dedicated dual sport bikes with saddlebags and big fuel tanks that were good off road and on the highway until they saw how many G/Ss BMW was selling. Before that people made do with smaller and less capable single cylinder enduros with limited range and very… Read more »
Desert Tortoise – Mammoth M/C and others in the know still have a way to street legal dirtbikes. There is a path that allows you to walk into DMV with a green sticker dirtbike and walk out with street legal plates. I did just this with my 2007 Honda CRF450X.… Read more »
All these federal and state agencies are taking as much as They can, They know They are living on Borrowed Time Now. Another quick bite of info, 22 million federal and state employee’s. What are these people going to do in a economic collapse & govt. collapse? The majority of… Read more »
Read:
http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/pages/1140/files/off-highway%20motorcycle%20conversions%20vin%202003-11.pdf
If it was manufactured after 1977 and was not manufactured to meet street requirements it cannot be registered for the street. The rules changed in 2003.
You know who really distrubs the peace, all those people who drive around with their windows down blasting their music so everyone can hear it. How about the neighbor that have their TV/music up on high or fighting with their spouse. Give the Adventure Trails a chance, the routes are… Read more »
Did you think about all the Harley motorcycles that are WAY MORE louder that can drive through the neighborhood? What about some of those huge lifted diesel trucks, or gas trucks with loud exhaust? There are plenty of other vehicles that you don’t seem to be issuing a moratorium on… Read more »
Although I agree the park as a staging area is a grossly bad idea for the very reason you state, I take exception to the accusation of disturbing the peace. The days of illegally motified exhaust on OHV’s are a thing of the past. Noise emissions of off-highway vehicles shall… Read more »
But think of all the money and jobs it will bring. Yes, I’m being sarcastic…