ATV riders and the local economy would benefit from building a 36-mile-long off-road vehicle trail that cuts through Lackawanna County, according to a feasibility study underway.
Building the trail would require the permission of at least 17 property owners, and some entity would have to operate it, the study found.
The county hired Michael Baker International in early 2023 to study creating a trail and hosted its first public meeting on the idea in March 2024.
During a public meeting Wednesday evening in Jessup, Steve Barber, Michael Baker's senior vice president and project manager, stressed the study is only the first step.
“We're not going to roll out where we're going to be building the trails next month … It's not the purpose of a feasibility study. A feasibility study is really to determine the practicality, the affordability, and determine a path forward for next steps.” Barber said.
Next steps include creating a master plan, gaining property owner permissions and finding an operator. The operator could be a public entity, a private company or a public-private partnership, Barber said.
ATV riding across the nation is growing in popularity, according to Department of Conservation and Natural Resources ATV Regional Pilot Report. The department provided a $124,600 grant for Lackawanna's study.
Barber said the company reworked the original plan based on comments from the first public meeting, which attracted more people. The company originally presented six properties potentially suitable for an ATV park. Local ATV enthusiasts wanted a trail that connects to other ATV trails, instead of a loop or box, Barber said.
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources report found the same sentiment. It states operators “seek longer, landscape level trail systems for many of the same reasons other non-motorized users of the state do to experience the outdoors, view wildlife, and enjoy camaraderie with like-minded people.”
The new Lackwanna plan would create a two-section trail that cuts through the county along Moosic and Montage Mountains. From the north, it would start in Simpson and end near Montage Mountain at the Luzerne County border. The trail corridor concept includes a trailhead at Aylesworth Park in Archbald.
Michael Baker looked at public data on All Trails and ATV crash data to see where people ride in the county to come up with the corridor, Barber said.
"I'm combining all of this data, DCNR data, state owned data, property data, county data, to come up with this corridor,” he said.
Teri Ooms, executive director of The Institute, a nonprofit data analytics and research organization, analyzed the economic benefits of expanded legal ATV trail access in Lackawanna.
Operations alone could potentially bring $747,508 into the local economy in year one. By year five, that jumps to $4.7 million.
Ooms also looked at visitor spending. In year one, she projected a local economic benefit of $962,544, rising to $9.08 million by year five.
One of Barber’s slides listed other benefits — reduced trespassing and increased safety, economic development and recreation. Next to that, the slide outlined the challenges - finding a project owner, landowner permission, funding and land-use changes.
The 17 property owners, which include the county, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, energy companies, and private landowners, were made aware of the study, Barber said.
The study only took into consideration Class 1 ATVs, which have a maximum width of 50 inches and are designed for one rider. Audience members said any ATV trails should include side-by-side UTVs, which are wider than 50 inches and with room typically for two people. They asked about motorcycles and fees.
Barber said that would be up to the trail’s operator.
They also asked about access to gas stations and obtaining permission from municipalities to ride on local roads.
Barber said the next step is a more detailed plan.
