WINFIELD TWP — Roads in Winfield Township could become a little more crowded depending on an upcoming vote.

The Winfield Township supervisors may decide at their Jan. 27 meeting whether to allow all-terrain vehicles to travel on certain township roads.

“We’ve been discussing it since September. I hope it comes up on Jan. 27,” Supervisor Matt Klabnik said.

He said a lack of a quorum prevented the board from taking action on the proposal before now.

According to Klabnik, township residents have approached him about permitting ATVs to travel on township roads.

“It would only be on certain township roads,” said Klabnik, saying high-traffic, high-speed roads such as Marwood and Bear Creek roads would remain off-limits to all-terrain vehicles.

Klabnik said, ATVs and similar vehicles fall under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Wesley Robinson, a spokesman for the department, said the agency oversees ATV licensing for Class I (maximum width of 50 inches and maximum weight of 1,200 pounds) and Class II (those whose width exceed 50 inches and whose weight exceed 1,200 pounds) ATVs.

ATVs must have a license plate and drivers must have insurance.

The requirements, said Robinson, “helps us keep track of them. There are not a lot of places where ATVs are permitted to be ridden. We’re working with townships and other entities to keep them safe and the rules followed.”

Drivers are required to have liability insurance, and proof of insurance has to be carried on the driver’s person. ATV drivers also must have on them or on the vehicle a certificate of registration. ATV registration costs $20 for two years. A title is $22.50 and includes a license plate.

State rules say no one under the age of 8 can drive an ATV on state-owned property.

Youths age 8 to 15, if riding off parent’s or guardian’s property, must have valid safety certificate obtained through completing an ATV safety training course.

The township would insist ATV drivers be insured and get a permit from the township before being allowed on a township road.

“This is the country,” Klabnik said. “People are riding on the road all the time. This provides some sort of enforcement.”

Neighboring South Buffalo Township in Armstrong County allows ATVs on its roads and hasn’t had a problem, Klabnik said.

South Buffalo Township Police Chief Jeff Kuntz said the township passed an ordinance permitting ATVs on certain township roads in October 2020.

As of March 1, 2021, Kuntz said, “Anybody can come fill out an application for a permit. We’ll verify the information and make sure the vehicle conforms to state law: working lights and turn signals, valid registration and insurance.

“We issue an annual permit for a $75 fee. There’s a $25 veterans’ discount,” he said.

A permit sticker is placed on the ATV, just like an inspection sticker. Kuntz said permit stickers can’t be transferred from ATV to ATV.

Between March 1 and Dec. 31, South Buffalo Township issued 89 permits and seven so far in 2022.

A driver doesn’t have to be a township resident to get a permit to drive an ATV in the township. Kuntz said some permits belong to Pittsburgh residents.

Kuntz said there are 100 miles of township roads and only five are off limits to ATV drivers, mostly because the roads veer into other municipalities or townships.

The township spent $11,000 putting up signs designating which roads may have ATV traffic.

Kuntz said there were only two ATV accidents reported in the township last year, both on private property.

“Of course, some people are going to go rogue,” he said. If an ATV is stopped on a township road without a permit, the driver is given a warning and three days to get a valid permit.

“A $75 fee is better than a $250 fine,” Kuntz said. “It’s been a successful program. We are very satisfied.”

One Winfield Township resident pushing for allowing ATVs on the roards is Shane Heinle, who has been a quadrapelegic since a mountain biking accident in Colorado 18 months ago.

“I don’t see a reason to keep them off the roads,” he said. “You are paying for a registration fee just like any other vehicle.

“I’m in a wheelchair. I can drive my side by side from house to house or point to point in the township,” Heinle said.

Klabnik said there was no agreement about the ordinance between himself and fellow township Supervisors Glen Neagle and Mike Robb.

Winfield Township resident Andreas “Hutch” Huchingson has owned an ATV and said, “They are safer than some of the motorcycles out there.”

“I can see where a lot of people would be against it,” said Huchingson of the proposed ordinance. “The landowners are afraid they going to be driving on their property.”

But he said allowing ATVs on township roads is something that “people should give a chance,” especially in these days of rising gasoline prices.

Huchingson plans to attend the meeting at 7 p.m. Jan. 27 in the township building at 194 Brose Road to voice his approval of the measure and is trying to get pro-ATV supporters to attend also.

Regardless of whether the ordinance passes, Klabnik said it will be good to have the matter settled one way or another.