Worcester City Council Demands Action on Rampant ATVs

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Many of the Worcester City Councilors are upset with the amount of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) that are driving around the city, speeding around on roadways, tearing up public parks, and posing a threat to public safety, to the point that they are looking to city officials to come up with some form of punishment.

At the most recent City Council meeting, one order that was brought up was to request the City Manager and the City Solicitor to provide the City Council with the current limits in ordinances and protocols relating to ATVs being driven on city streets and parks.

“This is an issue that we have been discussing at neighborhood meetings for sometime now,” said City Councilor Sarai Rivera. “We want to look to the administration and to look at what ordinances and protocol are in place. Number one, there has been damage to property, but there is also a chance of loss of life. If we could take a look at this issue, it would be helpful to the safety of our city.”

After Rivera spoke at the meeting, many of the other City Councilors signed on, with others choosing to speak on the matter. Additionally, some councilors wanted to add conservation land, snowmobiles, and unregistered vehicles to the order.

Finding a Proper Punishment

In an effort to decrease improper usage of ATVs in Worcester, the city is now looking into what exactly can be done to help prevent ATV operators from destroying public property and causing public harm. According to City Councilor Economou, these ATV riders are threatening citizens.

A popular thought at the meeting was to check into the legality of confiscating the vehicles, something that City Councilor Gaffney was unsure about, instead suggesting an impounding method.

“City Councilors Economou and Rivera have taken a great lead on this initiative,” said City Councilor Bergman. We only have around six months to enjoy our parks, which most people would like to do in peace and quiet. For me, the ultimate punishment would be, if you drive on one of these parks or public areas, we take your bike away.”

A Draconian Measure

Most people throughout the Worcester community want to find an adequate solution in dealing with ATV throughout the city because not only do they destroy public property, but they can also be very dangerous to public safety.

While the City Solicitor and City Council work to uncover exactly what the city can do to combat these vehicles, Bill McCarthy – a criminal justice professor at Quinsigamond Community College and former member of the Connecticut State Police – says that imposing some form of confiscation to these vehicles could be “a draconian measure.” While not knowing what the best solution would be, McCarthy believes that harsh punishments are not the answer.

“During the summer, we always see an increase in ATV use,” said McCarthy. “I think it would be kind of silly to impose a one strike and you are out rule. It is also difficult to determine whom these vehicles belong to. It may also be hard to catch people in the act of riding them and if so, you wouldn’t want to engage the police in a chase; that would be even more dangerous.”

Related Slideshow: Worcester’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods

Neighborhood search website Neighborhood Scout indexed violent and property crimes data from the Federal Bureau of Investigations to determine the crime rates on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis in Worcester. The slides below show the overall crime index (a score of 100 is best) as well as the per capita crime rates broken down by violent and property crime. The data is sourced from 2011 figures, the most recent year available from the FBI. The online resource is created by Location, Inc., a Worcester-area company that bills itself as a leader of location-based data and risk analysis information.

Worcester City Council Demands Action on Rampant ATVs

Related Slideshow: Worcester’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods

38. Heard Street

Crime Index: 83 (100 is safest)

37. Main St / Goddard Memorial Dr

Crime Index: 73 (100 is safest)

36. Westchester / Assumption

Crime Index: 70 (100 is safest)

35 (tie). Mill St / Worcester State U

Crime Index: 67 (100 is safest)

35 (tie). Oakland Heights / Massasoit

Crime Index: 67 (100 is safest)

33 (tie). Jamesville / Ludlow

Crime Index: 65 (100 is safest)

33 (tie). Burncoat

Crime Index: 65 (100 is safest)

31. Chadwick Square

Crime Index: 61 (100 is safest)

30. Sunderland

Crime Index: 60 (100 is safest)

29. Webster Square

Crime Index: 59 (100 is safest)

28. Westwood Hills

Crime Index: 57 (100 is safest)

27. North Worcester / Summit

Crime Index: 55 (100 is safest)

26. Pleasant St.

Crime Index: 48 (100 is safest)

25 (tie). Greendale

Crime Index: 47 (100 is safest)

25 (tie). Bloomingdale

Crime Index: 47 (100 is safest)

23. Clark U / Main St

Crime Index: 46 (100 is safest)

22. Tatnuck / West Tatnuck

Crime Index: 45 (100 is safest)

21. Lakeview

Crime Index: 43 (100 is safest)

20. Holy Cross / College St

Crime Index: 39 (100 is safest)

19 (tie). Columbus Park

Crime Index: 37 (100 is safest)

19 (tie). Hamilton

Crime Index: 37 (100 is safest)

17. Brittan Square

Crime Index: 34 (100 is safest)

16. Pinecrest

Crime Index: 33 (100 is safest)

Violent Crimes per 1000 residents: 5.65

15 (tie). City Center

Crime Index: 29 (100 is safest)

Violent Crimes per 1000 residents: 16.8

15 (tie). South Worcester

Crime Index: 29 (100 is safest)

13. Beaver Brook

Crime Index: 28 (100 is safest)

12 (tie). Swan Avenue

Crime Index: 24 (100 is safest)

12 (tie). June Street

Crime Index: 24 (100 is safest)

10 (tie). University Park

Crime Index: 20 (100 is safest)

10 (tie). Quinsigamond Village / College Hill

Crime Index: 20 (100 is safest)

8 (tie). Umass Medical / Lake Ave N

Crime Index: 16 (100 is safest)

8 (tie). Water St / Grafton St

Crime Index: 16 (100 is safest)

6 (tie). Beverly Road

Crime Index: 15 (100 is safest)

6 (tie). WPI / Highland St

Crime Index: 15 (100 is safest)

4. Oak Hill

Crime Index: 13 (100 is safest)

3. Belmont Hill / Shrewsbury St

Crime Index: 8 (100 is safest)

2. Chandler Hill

Crime Index: 6 (100 is safest)

1. Great Brook Valley

Crime Index: 4 (100 is safest)