Jefferson County, Oregon Opens 42 Roads to Street Legal Side by Sides

Riders in Jefferson County, Oregon can soon take street-legal side-by-sides onto dozens of county roads after commissioners approved the specific route list on Sept. 9. The decision builds on an ordinance passed in April that first allowed certain all-terrain vehicles on county roads. The September vote nailed down exactly which 42 roads are now open to them.

Commissioners Mike Wunsch, Kelly Simmelink and Seth Taylor approved the resolution. Only Class IV ATVs qualify. Those are vehicles built for varied terrain, no more than 75 inches wide, with non-straddle seating and off-road only tires. They also have to carry standard safety equipment like brake lights.

Once the ordinance took shape in the spring, the county asked the public which roads should be included. After residents weighed in, Jefferson County Public Works director Matt Powlison helped go through the suggestions and finalize the list that commissioners approved. Many of the approved stretches are short, running less than two miles.

Wunsch said keeping the burden off other agencies was a priority when the county started mapping possible routes. "The big focus that I directed Matt (Powlison) to work on when we first started looking at potential roads of what this might look like is I want to make sure that we are only using county roads," Wunsch said. "County roads that are maintained by us throughout the year, so that we're not putting a burden on other roads or any other jurisdiction to maintain the roads."

Drivers on these roads must follow all the same rules as anyone in a car. That means turn signals, seat belts and a valid driver's license. Commissioners chose to stagger when the roads open so the county has time to inform the public and put up signage. Roads in the Three Rivers and S.E. Grasslands areas take effect Nov. 1, while the rule reaches the Three Rivers area on Jan. 1. The approved roads sit in the Ranchos, S.E. Grasslands and Three Rivers areas, and all of them are listed on the county website and marked on maps.

Not everyone was on board. Al Short, who lives in the Ranchos neighborhood, told commissioners he worried about how fast riders might travel near his home. "We're very much a walking pedestrian neighborhood. We have kids with their parents, sometimes just kids by themselves, people walking dogs. We have a lot of the elderly that walk through there," Short said. "I see a potential accident happening."

Supporters showed up too. Tom Hurley, a member of the Central Oregon Side-by-Side Club, urged riders to protect their access by respecting the roads. "Our main goal is to be safe and you leave it like you found it," Hurley said. "You don't tear the roads up." He warned that misuse could get access reduced or pulled entirely.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office will handle enforcement. Sheriff Jason Pollock said side-by-sides will be treated exactly like other vehicles, and drivers who break the rules will be cited. He stressed that the ordinance only covers side-by-sides, not other machines. "This ordinance only pertains to side-by-sides, and if people are riding mini-mikes and four-wheelers and stuff like that, we want people to report that so we can enforce it," Pollock said. "You still have to obey all the rules of the road just like you do in a car."

The ordinance also carries a sunset clause. If it does not work as intended, the county has a built-in way to end it and pull ATVs off the roads. "This is going to be a learning process," Taylor said. "And we're trying to make it as safe and controlled as we possibly can."