Jericho Mountain ATV park Festival this weekend and ATV ons many roads from now on

[peakbagger]

For those in the northern presidentials or northern NH from now on, keep an eye out for ATVs running on the roads . For those climbing Mt Cabot
The Jericho ATV park is having an major ATV event which may slow down traffic through Berlin and out Rt 110.

http://www.wcax.com/story/22901490/permits-approved-for-atv-use-on-coos-county-hwys

The ATVs should be treated like any other vehicle on the road. It is not legal to pass them unless in a designated passing zone. Even though they may be running slower than the speed limit and at the side of the road it is not legal to pass them unless they are stopped (like any other vehicle) or there are multiple lanes.

The ATVs are predominately allowed in town business districts on roads that connect up to the trail system and allows access to local businesses.

 

[peakbagger]

An update, most of the rooms in the area are booked for this ATV festival this weekend . Anyone planning to stay in Gorham may need to go elsewhere.

 

[hiking lady]

Gee, I am glad I read this, I was thinking of dragging husband up there to hike Mt. Jericho on Saturday! We'd be right in the line of fire walking up that trail. It's busy enough as it is on a regular weekend, this means it will be a mob scene. THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP PB!!

 

[peakbagger]

That's why I am picking blueberries over in Maine on Andover Whitecap on Sunday!

 

[Raven]

And last night I followed a couple 4-wheelers down route 2 in town toward the 16 intersection in Gorham. They had no trouble keeping it at 30 mph but one of them had no lights in the back. I'm sure they must legally be lit up to ride at night, but just be aware that they may be hard to see. Even the one with a tail light had only one. They are at least as hard to see as a motorcycle.

 

[hiking lady]

I made the mistake of being in berlin last year when they had their celebration and it was complete mayhem with them all over the streets!! Glad I won't be on the trail up there, maybe next weekend!!

 

[peakbagger]

Raven you must have imagined the ATVs on the road, they cant legally drive on the highway after sunset. I cant locate the specific rules for Gorham but Berlin states the cut off time is 7 PM. They also need brake lights, not sure about rear running lights. They do need headlights and must have them on at all times.

The rules in general are a concern locally, that there isn't an effective enforcement method in place to educate both the public and the ATVs. Basically its been dumped on the Gorham PD. The stretch of RT 2 they are traveling on has minimal breakdown lane so every time an officer pulls someone over to "educate" them about the rules, he is effectively blocking one lane of traffic on a busy highway. Of interest is that many older ATVs have warning signs on them that driving on paved roads at speed is dangerous due to the handling characteristics of ATVs on pavement.

I guess its only a matter of time that someone become the first operating under the influence ATV rider, hopefully no one gets injured.

Depressingly, there is a scenic alternative route that starts at the ATV parking lot on RT 2 that runs right into Gorham and skips the worst part of RT 2 but due to the federal government funding used to build it, no motorized vehicles can use it except in an emergency.

 

[Andrew]

Raven you must have imagined the ATVs on the road, they cant legally drive on the highway after sunset. I cant locate the specific rules for Gorham but Berlin states the cut off time is 7 PM.

This was in the UL from the Trails Bureau chief, "Gamache said the off-road vehicles are not allowed to operate on the highways at night. And they are only allowed on highways when ATV trails are open." Which I don't get since the event had a downtown ATV ride-in only beer tent and concert party last night to 9 pm?

I spoke against opening the roads in Gorham at a selectman's meeting last month specifically since no one seems to know the rules and they are varying according to what roads, town, city and are hard to communicate to a diversified visiting tourists. We were assured that signage would solve all, but Thursday and Friday were a mess at the intersection of 16 and 2 as inadequate signage kept many atv's going north on 16 towards Berlin and the police busy until better signage was done before Friday evening.

 

[dug]

I made the mistake of being in berlin last year when they had their celebration and it was complete mayhem with them all over the streets!! Glad I won't be on the trail up there, maybe next weekend!!

I'm in town and its not bad at all. Downtown was busy with a party going on, but overall it's not such a big deal to be worried about IMO. Worth a warning, no doubt, but no panic necessary.

 

[Raven]

Raven you must have imagined the ATVs on the road, they cant legally drive on the highway after sunset. I cant locate the specific rules for Gorham but Berlin states the cut off time is 7 PM. They also need brake lights, not sure about rear running lights. They do need headlights and must have them on at all times.
.

Ha. I certainly do have a vivid imagination, but quite sure it was well after 7 PM and definitely dark. Glad to hear rule is daytime only though as they are hard to see at night from behind. One had no running lights, but again, this would not be a big deal if not riding at night.

I have not been around during the main part of the days this weekend, but I haven't seen this as largely negative yet. I'm actually leaning toward it being a good thing for the ATV users. Certainly would help some businesses locally to have this option I think. I haven't seen what Berlin is like, only Gorham.

 

[peakbagger]

It definitely was packed at all the parking lots in Gorham and Berlin on Saturday. The organizers had opened up some auxiliary lots in Gorham and they were full plus trucks with trailers were strung out all along route 2 where ever they could find a spot. The lots on Rt 110 were also loaded. Luckily most events were at the Jericho Lake area so the ATVs tended to stay at the park but reportedly in the AM and PM there were lots of ATVs on the roads. I expect the PM timing was the issue where folks leaving Jericho lake got back late to Gorham and then needed to access RT 2 and Rt 16 to get to their accommodations.

Given the major shot in the arm to the local motels and restaurants in Gorham I expect the town is going to be looking for options to improve the experience. The tough part about the ATV park is that Berlin does miss out on lot of the business as there is only one motel in Berlin and its decidedly a last choice for most. Various developers have looked at building a motel in Berlin but its definitely a highly speculative bet. Given the ATV and snowmobile trail network the logical spot for accommodations is Berlin vs Gorham but I expect the Berlin's reputation is going to be a high hurdle.

 

[peakbagger]

Here are the rules for Gorham which are different than Berlin. They were posted this morning. Unlike Berlin ATVs are allowed 24 hours per day as long as they have a taillight and a headlight

http://www.gorhamnh.org/Pages/GorhamNH_EmerNews/01B5D8A2-000F8513

 

[hiking lady]

Glad I only made it as far as mt. Crescent road in randolph then!

 

[Chip]

I think it's great. More traffic is better than no traffic in many areas.
It's not like most of us actually spend any time in Berlin and Jericho Mtn. S.P.

It's called commerce vs. mindlessly raising taxes.

Sorry if this sounds political. It is not.