The Apple River Riders ATV Club is working hard to establish a route so all-terrain vehicles can legally operate on some roads in St. Croix and Polk Counties in Wisconsin.
Barry Kunze, a member of the club, stopped by the Star Prairie Village Board meeting Aug. 7 to request that the community consider allowing ATVs to use certain streets to get through the village.
Kunze said the town of Alden in Polk County has already approved a route.
Kunze has also approached the town of Stanton about a route through that township. A Sept. 18 public hearing has been scheduled in the town of Stanton to gather input from residents and officially consider the ATV route idea.
Kunze reported that he will also be working with the town of Cylon and the village of Deer Park in the coming weeks to further develop a route through much of the northern part of the county.
Star Prairie Village Board members seemed comfortable with the plan of having ATVs use certain village streets.
"I suppose we better hear what the public has to say first," village president Greg Gibson said.
The board voted unanimously to conduct a public hearing on the proposal at its next regular meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11.
The proposed route in Star Prairie would enter the village from the north on Fifth Street, follow a trail on private land, and pick up on Fourth Street. ATVs would head east on Mill Avenue as far as First Street, where they would head north to County Road M. If the route is approved, the ATVs would then head up to the old schoolhouse and take a right through the village ballfield area. They would take a short jog on County Road H to Aaron. The route would then use private land to get ATVs to the convenience store on the south edge of town.
In an interview after the meeting, Kunze said the club has been working for three years to establish an ATV route that starts in Star Prairie and runs to Amery to the east and East Farmington to the west. The goal is to connect with the Cattail Trail in Amery, which is open to ATV operators.
"It's been a long process. We've got it all planned out," he said. "We just need everyone to approve it."
