OXFORD — The local ATV club has applied to the Maine Department of Transportation to use a 0.6 mile stretch of state Route 121 between Skeetfield Road and Allen Hill Road to connect its trails.

No decision has been announced by the state, but leaders of the Oxford Trail Ryders said they are confident they will get approval to allow them to connect trails within the town and beyond.

As club President Jordan Emery explained to selectmen in August, the club has invested $37,000 this year from state grants to improve ATV trails in town.

At the club’s request earlier this year, Town Manager Adam Garland confirmed that the town’s public roads include easements for ATVs to move from one trailhead to another. However, to use the section of state Route 121, also known as Pleasant Street, between Skeetfield and Allen Hill roads, requires approval by the MDOT.

Before applying to the state, the club was required to request local approval to do so. The Select Board unanimously granted it during its Aug. 25 meeting.

Emery said that if the state authorizes ATV road access, a local business has offered $1,200 to sponsor MDOT-approved signs. He also said the club would adhere to whatever the town directs for ATVs driving in the Oxford Elementary School’s traffic zone on Pleasant Street.

During discussion among the board, one resident said he recently encountered two ATVs on Skeetfield Road that were driving 38 miles an hour, with one of them abruptly stopped in the middle of the road.

“He just sat there in the road and when I laid on the horn he turned around and just looked at me. There were cars everywhere. It seems reckless for them to go that fast on a paved road,” he said. “Living on King Street, there are certain ATVs driving up to 45 mph, all the time.”

Emery stressed that the club advises its members to be respectful on the roads and trails.

Police Chief Rickie Jack said his department does not receive many complaints.

“We work with the PD. Whatever we post as a club is what they will enforce,” Emery said. “But I don’t know if they can legally ticket someone because there is no state speed limit for ATVs.”

Board Chairman Dana Dillingham said he hoped that if Oxford encounters issues with ATV riders on Pleasant Street, MDOT would be open to revoking or restricting access in the future.

“I am assuming DOT would work with us,” Garland said.

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