Hundreds of ATVs and dirt bikes ride through city streets
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Hundreds of ATVs and dirt bikes ripped through city streets from Monroe Avenue to East Avenue on Sunday evening, including in front of the News10NBC station.
News10NBC has covered Rochester Police’s crackdown on ATVs and dirt bikes for quite some time. This summer, RPD seized almost 20 illegal vehicles in a single day, saying the vehicles pose a danger to the public. Despite that, ATVs and dirt bikes are still a sight on city streets.
A viewer sent in a video of a group of vehicles traveling down Monroe Avenue for over a minute. Some were disrupting traffic, riding in the wrong lane, and jumping onto the sidewalks.
RPD responded after we reached out, saying “officers monitored the situation through the blue light cameras. However, officers were diverted to other calls for service throughout the city.” News10NBC is working to learn how police are addressing illegal street vehicles.
Even though summer is over, the City of Rochester is still conducting regular details. Mayor Malik Evans says he ran into a group of illegal rides on Lyell Avenue on Sunday. He says he’s not backing down on cracking down.
“So far this year we’ve confiscated over 137 ATV and dirt bikes,” sais Mayor Evans Monday morning. “We want people to be able to ride motorcycles, if you want to do that, but there’s a legal way to do that. ATVs and dirt bikes are illegal in the City of Rochester.”
Mayor Evans also announced a new initiative to empower neighbors. For more information on the initiative, click here.
“I always tell people you gotta get off Facebook and meet each other face to face,” Evans said. “We just haven’t been doing that we just haven’t been doing that. People are sitting in their pajamas eating fruit loops and on social media. That’s fine, but we want people to get off their porch and connect.”
If you’re caught on an unregistered or unlicensed bike or ATV in Monroe County, it’s a $500 fine the first time and a $2,000 fine every time after that. If you don’t reclaim your off-road vehicle, it’s stripped for parts and then crushed. The bikes and ATVs don’t go up for auction because the city and county don’t want them purchased by the same owners for less than the fines.