Kelso votes down wheeled ATVs on city streets (2024)

Kelso will not join Cowlitz County and other local smaller cities in allowing wheeled ATVs on city streets where the speed limit maxes out at 35 mph after a close vote Tuesday.

Two local ATV drivers told the council it would be easier for them to get to Kelso if the city adopted the same rules as other local cities and the county after state lawmakers gave municipalities the OK to do so roughly a decade ago.

Cowlitz County passed its first ATV ordinance in 2019, which was expanded in 2022 to allow the vehicles on a handful of state highways. In the last three years Kalama, Castle Rock and Woodland have adopted variations of the same rules. But the Kelso council majority was hung up on safety concerns and the relatively small number of drivers the law would benefit.

“You come to me with a way to monitor these vehicles, ensure that only conscientious people will utilize these vehicles,” councilmember Jim Hill said. “What is the purpose of these vehicles other than fun?”

“We can’t regulate what people do on motorcycles, we can’t regulate what people do in cars,” replied councilmember Keenan Harvey, who has pushed for the ordinance since April.

Hill, Mayor Veryl Anderson, and councilmembers Mike Karnofski and Lisa Alexander voted against the ordinance.

In 2013 the Washington Legislature passed a measure setting different rules for wheeled ATV usage compared to other, smaller ATVs, and giving municipalities permission to allow the vehicles on roads with low speed limits.

The road rules specifically allow wheeled ATVs — also known as utility task vehicles or “side-by-side” ATVs — because the driver and passenger seats are next to each other. These are larger ATVs that use a steering wheel instead of handlebars and come equipped with a windshield and roll cage around the main cabin.

How to make an ATV street legal

Cowlitz County residents Gary Down and his father Greg Down were ATV drivers who had worked for years to improve their friends’ vehicles. In 2016 they launched a full business operation called 2FastMX to repair and modify the vehicles, based out of a garage in between west Kelso and Castle Rock

Last week, Down was finalizing the body kit for a Polaris Ranger XP 1000. The Ranger looks like a pickup truck that’s been stripped down for off-roading with thick knobbed tires, car-like doors and a small bed at the back to haul equipment. Down said the Ranger belonged to a retired longshoreman in the county.

“A lot of the guys that own these models are retired. They want to cut loose a little bit. It’s like having a classic car,” Down said.

Kelso’s proposed ordinance would have required wheeled ATV to have a litany of safety features to make them road legal including rearview mirrors, reflective lights, seatbelts and brake lights. Many of these additions don’t come on a standard version of the Polaris Ranger and have to added by the owner or at a business like 2FastMX.

As with cars on the road, the wheeled ATV drivers need to have a valid license and be at least 16 years old. Kelso’s ordinance requires all passengers in the wheeled ATVs to wear seatbelts and helmets unless the vehicle comes with a rollover protection system. The vehicles have to be inspected to make sure the additions meet the state safety standards.

Down said the requirements all made sense to limit the risks that come with allowing the vehicles onto streets.

“Every car that comes into Washington doesn’t have to be inspected,” Down said. “If someone wants to start using one of these on the road, it has to be inspected. It’s good to require that to build trust.”

Safety concerns

Sarah Hoskins, the chairwoman for Safe Kids Lower Columbia, spoke against Kelso’s ordinance at the May 21 council meeting. Safe Kids Lower Columbia promotes child safety on roads by providing car seats and offering safety workshops.

Hoskins said Safe Kids had missed the ATV ordinances that rolled out in the other cities but had safety concerns about continuing to allow them on roads. The ATVs are not built to allow for child car seats to be added. Even though the wheeled ATVs are smaller than a car, they have blind spots because of the roll bar frames.

“Roll cages are meant to keep people in the vehicle while it’s recreating,” Hoskins said. “It’s not made to withstand an impact with another vehicle.”

Data about the frequency of crashes involving ATVs or wheeled ATVs is not consistently reported. Hoskins, who was against the measure, and Harvey, or was for, cited vastly different numbers at council meetings for how many fatal crashes took place in Washington over the last few years.

The Consumer Federation of America, a product safety advocacy group, tracks fatal accidents across the U.S. using news reports. According to their records, there have been 32 fatal crashes since 2018 in Washington that involved off-road vehicles, and 11 of those crashes involved wheeled ATVs that could reach speeds greater than 30 mph.

Courtney Griffin, director of Consumer Product Safety for the federation, told The Daily News via email that a majority of fatal ATV crashes happen on roads. Griffin said the group was especially concerned about the risks to children, who reportedly make up around 15% of casualties in ATV accidents.

“Despite the weight of industry and consumer advocate warnings ... the majority of states allow (off-highway vehicles) to be driven recreationally on public roads under certain circ*mstances or with local approval,” Griffin writes. “This is extremely dangerous.”