By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
Two adjacent Rhode Island cities plagued by marauding off-road dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles form a joint task force to crack down on the riders, while planning other ways to curb their numbers on city streets.
Mayors and police chiefs of Providence and Cranston held a joint news conference near the city line on Tuesday, disclosing their entry into a memorandum of understanding to assist each other to deter the illegal use of bikes and ATVs.
“Our goal is to remove these vehicles and operators who break the law safely,” said Cranston Police Chief Michael Winquist.
“I am confident that by working together and armed with new and expanded city ordinances, we will be able to remove these dangerous vehicles from our streets and allow law-abiding citizens to travel safely,” Winquist said.
He said State Police will assist in the effort, and other communities may also join in the effort.
Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins said he is working out an agreement with the city of Santo Domingo to ship the vehicles seized in his city to the Dominican Republic for use by the police there.
Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements said Providence will continue to crush vehicles that are seized in his city.
The joint agreement follows a statement by Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza, who said he would investigate licensing and registration arrangements for off-road vehicles, while Hopkins and Winquist had rejected the idea as unworkable for Cranston.
Elorza said the cities would explore other ways to thwart illegal vehicles from operating on city streets.
“It’s not just the riders who are out there, but it’s also everyone who enables those riders to be out there. So, looking at gas stations, looking at sellers, looking at the organizers and looking at the owners of these vehicles,” Elorza said.
A man in a hooded jacket, holding a cellphone and apparently videoing the news conference asked whether the cities would open up public spaces or arrange for private spaces to be used for riders. He received no answers.
