The fence bordering the side of the Roanoke Canal Trail at River Road is there for more than aesthetics — it is there to keep four-wheelers and other all-terrain vehicles off the historic walking path.

At least three times a month, Roanoke Rapids Parks and Recreation Director John Simeon fields complaints about the vehicles traveling on the Canal Trail.

In winter the problem is worse. “It’s almost weekly,” he said today.

Not only is it illegal to ride them on city streets — that includes when it snows — it is illegal to ride them on the trail.

“There are several problems,” Simeon said. “They are damaging a historic piece of property. The overall factor is a safety issue.”

There are people who use the trail for photography, bird watching, walking and physical fitness. “There are a lot of blind corners you come across and that causes problems.”

(A bridge on the Canal Trail between the cogeneration plant and the wastewater treatment plant is out, Simeon said. The town of Weldon and the Canal Commission are working to replace it.)

There have been several head and neck injuries reported from ATV mishaps on the trail. “The trail is very narrow in some places. They can do damage to the actual trail by causing ruts that make it lose the banks,” said Simeon.

Repairs made include grading and putting dirt back in where there has been destruction.

In Roanoke Rapids there are barriers from the Canal Museum to the dam and from River Road to the cogeneration plant, which makes trips on ATVs short-lived.

Simeon has caught people riding on the trail. “A lot don’t understand it’s illegal to ride four-wheelers in the city. There’s a lot of kids who have them but have no where to ride them.”

The fence at River Road, an Eagle Scout project, is a direct response to damage done at the trail. The damage manifested itself by an ATV rider going up and down the side hill and spinning tires. “The individual went back and fixed the damage himself,” Simeon said.

Major Tommy Hathaway of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department said the consequences of riding ATVs on the Canal Trail could be as severe as having the vehicle impounded.

Depending on the situation, a rider caught on the trail could be cited or charged with damage to property, trespassing and not having tags or insurance. “Once you put an ATV on the roadway it becomes a vehicle and you have to comply with the law or you’re going to face some kind of penalty.”