Albany weighs vehicle options

Raising cost to recover ATVS, dirt bikes on table

Riding an illegal dirt bike or ATV in the city might get a lot more expensive.

The Common Council is considering legislation that would ratchet up the cost to recover an impounded dirt bike or ATV to $3,000 in an attempt to discourage riders from using the city’s streets.

During a recent council meeting, Brett William, an attorney for the city, explained that the legislation would tack on a $2,350 “redemption fee” to the existing $650 fine.

“Assuming a judge would impose the maximum sentence, which I think we hope they would,” he told the council members.

The problem of off-road vehicles on the city’s streets has slowly morphed from a seasonal one to a near year-round frustration for residents and city officials. Last winter, groups of riders swarmed cars waiting to see the Capital Holiday Lights in the Park displays in Washington Park.

The riders are a problem in other areas of the Capital Region as well. Last October, a 30-year-old man died after riding the wrong way down a one-way street in Schenectady. On Saturday, a 22-year-old man was charged with felony assault after he allegedly drove his ATV into an officer.

Earlier this month, a group of riders in Albany blew through a red light at the intersection of Lark Street and Hudson Avenue and one ATV crashed into the side of a school bus, injuring two employees on the bus. The rider fled before officers arrived.

And while residents have lobbied the city and the police department to do more to crack down on the practice, there are few other options for the city. Police departments generally do not pursue off-road vehicle riders unless they’ve committed serious crimes over concerns about liability if the riders crash. And riders who are stopped typically walk away with traffic tickets and having their bikes impounded.

On platforms like Nextdoor, Reddit and

Seeclickfix, neighbors ask why the department isn’t doing more or ask other residents what can be done.

The department does have a detail of officers in unmarked cars assigned to trying to find the riders and seize the vehicles. Officers have seized five vehicles so far this year, including four in one day earlier this month.

In 2019, the city council voted to create a rewards program for residents to call in tips to the police to help them locate illegal vehicles. It’s unclear if that program is being used. The police department also has drones it can use to track riders as part of its efforts to seize those vehicles.

Albany police Sgt. Tanya Hansen told the council she understands residents’ frustrations. The riders were a problem every day last summer and the department focused its enforcement efforts on spots they knew the riders stopped at and were able to make some arrests, she said.

“I get it. They want us to chase them and take the

bikes and it’s just not that simple,” she said. “At the end of the day we have to be safe. We can’t go out there and be as reckless as they are.”

She urged the council to move quickly.

“We’re trying to strategically address the issue when we’re able to do so safely. But it’s not enough,” she said. “The further we get into the warmer months, the more difficult it will become to address this issue.”

Councilman Derek Johnson said he supported increasing the redemption fee but wondered if the city could come up with a site where riders could go to ride legally.

“I fully support the measures that need to be taken for people riding through the streets and the city, but I think we should be coming up with an option because to expect people not to ride at all, and we don’t provide an alternative, is problematic in itself,” he said.

Hansen said that wasn’t an option in her mind because she didn't think the riders would stay in that area.

“They don’t follow the law,” she said. “They’re reckless and they’re a danger to the community.”