Re: The ATV Death in Clifton
Posted by:
YZ125
()
Date: December 31, 2008 10:39AM
back on topic Wrote:
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> Was this a driveway that was chained off?
>
> I thought the article stated that the kid on the
> ATV was coming to the house to play with their
> kid.
>
> If the parents knew the kid was on an ATV and were
> expecting him I don't think putting a chain there
> was very smart.
No, it was not a drive way. It is a small, one lane gravel road ("lee's Farm Road") that runs along the Clifton Creek (AKA Popes Head Creek) parelleling what the townies call "8 Acre Park". It begins at the end of Chapel St (not Chapel Rd.), but the Chapel St in the interior of town (next to the town park, and the Mayor's "Ice Cream Depot").
If memory serves correct, there is a large, official gate at the entrance of Lee's Farm road, where Chapel St. ends. Meaning, a car could certainly not make it through, and any dirt bike or four wheeler would need to hop over a steep dirt embankment in order to access the road (trail) in question (not a serious obstacle whatsoever for a dirt bike or ATV).
Lee's Farm road again is a small gravel road that connects the prestigious Glencairn neighborhood with the town of clifton.
But again, this is not a drive way. I would assume the teenager took this route often. A kid in the town of Clifton will use any and all trails, even if they are private property i.e. no trespassing. I will assume that his friend lived in the back of the Glenncairn neighborhood, but not the closest house to where Lee's Farm road lets out into the neighborhood, and where the accident occured. Lee's Farm road is the only route into Glencairn without using the main roads, which from the town of clifton, would be approximately a 1 mile drive on paved surfaces.
But to get down to the nitty gritty here....
to restate, I do not believe that the deceased was visiting the home of the closest residence to lee's farm road, where the trail dumps out. You can actually see that house in the picture at the top of this thread. My question is, whose decision is it, when and when not to put the chain up across the trail. Is it the call of the closest property owner, or a collective neighborhood decision? That, to me, is they gray area right now, as the area in question (seen in the photo), to my knowledge, is town property, and not the property of any Glencairn home owner.
In order to access the remainder of the neighborhood, and to get to his friends house, he would need to hop off the trail, and proceed (even if for a very short distance) through someone's property, and onto the neighborhood streets. Could a property owner have been tired of 4-wheeler tracks on this lawn, and then decide to insititute the chain, at a very unfortunate time?
I could go on and on, but enough speculation. Maybe someone in Glencairn could share some first hand knowledge.