ATV/UTV Routes on Town Roads Denied

There are 3,271 people registered to drive ATVs/UTVs in Door County, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Door County Chief Deputy Pat McCarty said the towns that allow ATV/UTV use on some town roads include Baileys Harbor, Brussels, Gardner, Nasewaupee, Union and Washington.

The Town of Sevastopol will not be joining that list now that the Sevastopol Town Board decided by consent not to grant a request to allow ATV/UTV routes on town roads.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for our town at this time,” said Dan Woelfel, Sevastopol town board chair, summing up what four of the five supervisors said during the Dec. 12 meeting. The supervisors’ primary concerns were safety issues and the addition of off-road vehicles to town roads that are already enduring higher traffic due to increased visitor numbers.

“We have enough traffic as it is without increasing it,” Woelfel said.

The board did not vote on the request because Woelfel said it wasn’t necessary when all but one of the supervisors – Mark Haen – said they didn’t want town ATV/UTV routes.

A group of ATV/UTV riders had brought the request to a town board committee in June. The issue moved to the public-hearing stage before the town board in November. About 30 people showed up for that meeting, with six speaking in favor of the concept, saying it was a safe method of transportation and good for visiting friends, family and local businesses. Five people spoke against it, including two people who successfully prevented the opening of County C to ATV/UTV use, connecting Sturgeon Bay and Nasewaupee. Primary among the opponents’ concerns were safety and noise issues.

“I see your passion,” said board member Linda Wait to the roughly 15 people who attended the Dec. 12 meeting and had advocated for the change. “But as things stand right now, I don’t see this request being a good fit for Sevastopol.”

Woelfel said he was an ATV enthusiast who trailered his vehicles to other areas of Wisconsin where off-road trails were plentiful. He spent a significant amount of time researching the consequences of having the vehicles on town roads, including talking to town administrators where ATV/UTV use is allowed. He said the Town of Nasewaupee, for example, had opened routes to try to decrease congestion on town roads during the ice-fishing season. 

“They were plugging up roads and couldn’t get emergency vehicles in, so it was a way to overcome overcrowded roads,” Woelfel said. 

But that allowance has led to other issues, Woelfel said he was told, such as ATV/UTV use on roads that had not been approved, and the use of other vehicles such as golf carts on town roads. 

“They just kind of leave it go,” Woelfel said. “I’m not in a position to leave it go.”

Woelfel also said he’d heard from the Door County Sheriff’s Office that it isn’t in a position to actively police ATV/UTV routes, nor was the town equipped to do so.

According to reports kept by the DNR, there have been 45 ATV/UTV fatalities across the state in 2021 as of Dec. 13, though none of those occurred in Door County. In more than half of those fatalities, alcohol was involved.