November 25, 2025 |
Photo – Saratoga Town Sign – Bigfoot 99 File Photo
A new poll shows that most Saratoga residents support allowing quads and side‑by‑sides on the streets of the Platte Valley town.
In response to complaints about off‑road vehicle use, Saratoga Police Chief John Moore suggested designating certain streets as ORV routes, allowing the vehicles to legally travel through town. Alternatively, Chief Moore said an ordinance could be adopted to require off‑road vehicles to simply display a valid sticker issued by the Division of State Parks, Historic Sites, and Trails to operate on Saratoga’s streets. The police chief added that current ordinances forbid all side‑by‑sides and quads in town.
Before reaching a decision, the governing body directed Chief Moore to create a survey asking residents for input on in‑town off-road vehicle use.
The police chief presented the findings of his nine-question survey at the November 19th Saratoga Town Council meeting. Chief Moore said the first question asked if residents believed off‑road vehicle use in town has a positive or negative impact on the community. Of the 422 responses, 260 people reported that ORV use has a positive or very positive impact.
The second question asked people how often they use off-road vehicles within town limits. Chief Moore said the results showed that usage varied widely among respondents, with 77 reporting daily use, 93 weekly, 49 monthly, 78 rarely, and 123 never.
The third question asked residents what kinds of off‑road vehicles they drive: ATVs, dirt bikes, UTVs, or four‑wheel‑drive trucks. Of 367 respondents, 191 said they drive four‑wheel‑drive trucks in town. Chief Moore explained that the inclusion of that vehicle type was a mistake caused by his use of AI to help generate the questions.
Chief Moore said based on the response to question #4, 86% — 285 of 329 – recommended operators carry some form of ORV insurance.
The next question asked if off-road vehicles should be permitted to operate in Saratoga without a multipurpose vehicle, or MPV, license plate issued by the Carbon County Treasurer’s Office. Chief Moore said approximately half of the 414 respondents replied that MPV registration should be required.
Chief Moore said the results of that question appear to contradict the next, which asked if ORVs should be registered with the town, the State Trails Program, or both before being operated in town. The police chief said a majority of respondents, 185 in this case, favored only requiring an ORV sticker through the State Trails Program.
The seventh and eighth questions asked if some or all Saratoga streets should be designated as ORV routes. Chief Moore said while only 151 of 414 respondents supported classifying certain streets for ORV use, 304 of 417 favored allowing off‑road vehicles on all town streets.
Finally, residents were asked if unregistered off‑road vehicles should be banned from Saratoga streets between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., the town’s designated quiet hours. Chief Moore said more than half of respondents supported the quiet‑hour restriction.
Mayor Chuck Davis instructed Chief Moore to use the results of the survey to draft an ordinance governing off-road vehicle use in town. Chief Moore said he’s already decided how to proceed. All ORVs would need to comply with existing multipurpose vehicle regulations.
Chief Moore said he will prepare a draft ORV ordinance to be presented at the December 3rd Saratoga Town Council meeting. Afterwards, if the governing body approves the changes, the draft ordinance will be sent to Town Attorney Kylie Waldrip for review. As with all ordinance changes, the measure would need to be read and approved at three separate public meetings.
