http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/city/c...aatv.a9b20.html
City wants to close off-road park
Riders say they have few other places to go
05/29/2002
By CURTIS HOWELL / The Dallas Morning News
Dirt bike riders and people with four-wheel all-terrain vehicles stand to lose one of the few remaining areas where they can ride legally in the Dallas region, if the city of Lavon has its way.
City officials want the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to close a 70-acre off-road vehicle park that has been open near Lake Lavon for more than 25 years.
Officials say new residents in the area complain of noise, traffic and parking problems associated with the network of trails and jumps, creeks and curves that draw users in droves on weekends.
In its place, they want an 18-hole golf course.
Off-roaders contend that the move is about money, that noise isn't an issue because the park is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and that people knew before they moved there that the area had been set aside for all-terrain vehicles.
Meanwhile, the corps is informing people that they have until June 30 to make their opinions known; a decision is expected in July or August.
Matt Melott, 16, of Lavon said he has been using the park since he was 3. His buddy, A.J. Morris, 17, of Garland got started a little later – age 6.
"Yeah, we pretty much grew up here," A.J. said Tuesday.
Matt, between rounds of bouncing on a red trail bike, said the park caters as much to families as anyone.
"I'd rather they didn't close it," he said.
Tony Tucker of Garland was more direct.
"I think it's bull," he said, when he learned of the corps' possible action to close the area.
After he unloaded his Kawasaki four-wheeler Tuesday for a morning run on the trails, he turned and pointed as a train passed nearby.
"They need to close the train track down, too, then," he said.
Terry Sullivan, also of Garland, said the park was the only place in the area left to ride.
"Where else are we going to go? We have to have a place to ride," she said, watching Tony air up a tire.
Local dealers say off-road vehicles are big business – between 30 percent and 40 percent of their sales.
"All of these customers are being squeezed out of places to ride," said Larry O'Neal, owner of Plano Kawasaki-Suzuki,
Besides the Lavon area, off-road motorcycle and four-wheeler riders have few choices: A corps area near Grapevine Lake is the only other public access area in the region, Mr. O'Neal said.
Three others in Weatherford, Muenster and Decatur, Mr. O'Neal said, are on private land and charge a fee for use.
Lavon is popular, he said, because it is big enough to offer a variety of terrain. It's easy for parents to keep an eye on young riders, he said, it's free, and, most of all, it's close enough that people can use it conveniently for a half-day if they want to.
"My fear is – these people are going to ride their stuff somewhere," Mr. O'Neal said.
Central Yamaha owner Dave Walters said he would rather see the corps charge a fee – something on the order of $10 a day if money is the issue – than close the area.
"There are dozens of places where people can play golf," Mr. Walters. said. "But this is the only off-road around in the Dallas area."
Another option, he said, might be to move the area to a more remote region of the lake that can't be used for anything else.
"The most godforsaken land on Earth is the best land for off-road riding," he said, "something that couldn't even be used for a golf course."
Lavon City Council member Brandon Wilson has been the council's main supporter of the golf course.
He said he could empathize with the off-roaders. "I've got a four-wheeler, and I ride it out there."
But many of the users abuse the privilege, he said, and have made the park a thorn in the city's side.
"The whole situation stems from complaints," he said. "After-hours riders – they put up a gate but [riders] still get in along the railroad. They ride outside the boundaries in environmentally sensitive areas."
The parking lot is small, he said, so people park on the narrow road leading to the area and create a hazard, even though the city writes tickets.
"And they ride their off-road vehicles on the street to get to the park," he said.
"This is not what the city wanted. It's the citizens wanting to correct illegal activity," Mr. Wilson said.
"If the users would have obeyed the law, this would never have come up," he said. But he added that the city also doesn't see any advantage to having the off-road area next door.
"Its time has come," he said. "Now we are developing and things change, and it's time for this to change, too."
He said there are developers willing to build the golf course, which would not provide any revenue to the city other than increased land values.
"We definitely want a golf course. It would be a plus," he said.
Lee Hunt, lake manager for the corps, said that at this point, he doesn't see a need for a public hearing but that one could be called if enough substantive issues are raised.
"Right now we are open," Mr. Hunt said. "We see good and bad on both sides," adding that off-road riding is a legitimate family activity.
"We want to put it out to the public and we want to know their feelings," he said. "We are trying to make an informed decision."
Those who have questions or are interested in commenting on the potential closure should write to Mr. Hunt at 3375 Skyview Drive, Wylie, TX 75098.
E-mail curthowell@dallasnews.com
or call 214-977-7472.