# Snowmobiles speeding on Kawkawlin River



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Wrong wording in law keeps snowmobiles speeding on Kawkawlin 

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-8/117155615417110.xml&coll=4

02/15/07 By JEFF KART TIMES WRITER 894-9639 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Bay County authorities are trying to crack down on speeding snowmobilers on the frozen Kawkawlin River. 

But it hasn't been easy. A law that set a speed limit on the ice was written incorrectly by someone in Lansing. So a 45 mph speed limit for snowmobiles and off-road vehicles on the frozen waterway only covers an area from the Euclid Road bridge to an old railroad bridge just past the State Park Drive bridge in Bangor Township. 

The limit was supposed to cover a 2-mile stretch from the Euclid Road bridge northeast to the river mouth.

The limit was proposed by state Department of Natural Resources officials in July 2005 after requests by township officials, leaders from the Kawkawlin River Watershed Property Owners Association and a public meeting. 

Darryl Steiner, association vice president, has spearheaded the issue for the group. 

Steiner said publicity about the speed limit, despite delays in getting it finalized, has helped slow traffic on the ice. Steiner said recent weekend snowmobile patrols by the Bay County Sheriff's Office also have helped. 

''We're not trying to eliminate snowmobilers on the river,'' Steiner said. ''We're just trying to slow them down.'' 

He said the association is planning a river walk for later this month, and he hopes the snowmobilers will give walkers some room. 

Glenn Rowley, a 37-year-old snowmobiler who lives on the river, said the situation needs fixing. 

''It's truly out of control out there and this is from a snowmobiler,'' said Rowley, who also belongs to the property owners association.

He said he can watch snowmobilers line up to drag race outside his home ''on sleds that can do over 100 mph. There's really no room for that.'' 

Rather than a speed limit, however, Rowley thinks speeding snowmobilers need to have some respect for others who use the river. 

''Everybody needs to share it,'' he said.

If people want to go fast, there's plenty of room on Saginaw Bay, Rowley said. 

''I have a 3-year-old who likes to walk on the ice,'' Rowley said. ''But the only time he can do that is first thing in the morning, before the guys are out there riding. It's the only safe time.'' 

Steiner said he's been in contact with Rep. Jeff Mayes, D-Bay City, about fixing the speed limit mistake. The speed limit was supposed to include three sections on a county map, but only one section was included in the law when it was typed up by administrators in Lansing. 

Steiner said he hopes township officials will consider installing speed limit signs to alert snowmobilers to the regulations. 

Steiner, a former postal worker, said he understands that mistakes can happen when government regulations are drafted, but hopes DNR officials, Mayes and others will see that the omission is fixed soon. 

''My gut feeling is we won't see that law on the books yet this winter,'' he said. ''We've been working on this thing for three years.'' 

Mayes said he's made two calls to the DNR in Lansing and is pushing the agency to finalize the law as intended.

''I'm concerned it has taken a long time and that there are many people on the river that would like to see this issue resolved,'' Mayes said. 

Bay County Sheriff's Lt. James Chlebowski said deputies have been making a lot of good contacts on the river during patrols in recent weekends. 

Two deputies, each on a snow machine, have been assigned to the river during weekends, and will be out again this weekend. He said deputies have mostly been handing out warnings.

One snowmobiler was ticketed for reckless driving and driving with a suspended license last weekend, Chlebowski said. 

''It's a problem for us that there's not a full speed limit,'' he said. ''We're making contacts and trying to educate the public about the safe operation of snow machines.'' 

Besides the speed limit, there's also a state law that says snowmobilers need to stay more than 100 feet from ice fishermen or ice skaters, Chlebowski said. 

On most of the Kawkawlin, that means snowmobilers should be crawling by people on the ice, going no faster than it takes to move forward. 

''We don't have enough money to do 24-hour operations,'' Chlebowski said. ''We're trying to do the best we can with limited resources.''


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Kawkawlin River speed limit zone could expand

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1174490138107170.xml&coll=4

03/21/07

Delays in putting a speed limit on the frozen Kawkawlin River in Bay County may mean the area proposed for the slow down will expand.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources held a public hearing at Bangor Township Hall last week, to restart the process for putting a speed limit on the ice for snowmobiles and off-road vehicles.

A speed limit first was proposed in 2004, but mistakes in filing paperwork and notices for public meetings have forced the process to begin anew. 

Lt. Craig Grey, with the DNR Law Enforcement Division, said two township officials spoke in favor of a speed limit at the March 15 public hearing; no one else showed up. 

Both officials in favor of a speed limit requested that it cover the entire portion of the river located in Bangor Township, Grey said. 

That's what township officials asked for when the law first was proposed. 

The DNR recommended in 2005 that there be a 45 mph limit for a two-mile stretch from the Euclid Road bridge northeast to the river mouth. 

Due to mistakes in processing the law, the current limit is set between the Euclid Road bridge and an old railroad bridge just past the State Park Drive bridge. 

Grey said once a 30-day comment period expires in mid-April, the DNR will make another recommendation. 

''It is possible it could be extended'' to the entire township, Grey said of the speed limit area. 

After a new recommendation is made, the law must go through a 15-step process before a new speed limit is put in place. Grey said that could take another six months to a year, but ''I think there's support from all corners to get this done as soon as possible.''


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

What's the big deal? I have em going faster than that on my street.


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