SHAMOKIN, Pa. — The city of Shamokin has been trying to find a way to boost its economy. It came up with an out of the box plan to attract more people to downtown.
Just a few miles away from Shamokin, Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area usually draws in about 1,200 people a weekend. People ride dirt bikes, ATVs, and other off-road vehicles.
The city wants a few of those riders to stop by and see what it has to offer.
"They come to Shamokin and say 'wow, this is great here. I love it. We can't wait to come back.' It's been a long time since people have said that about the city of Shamokin," Mayor John Brown said.
The city passed an ordinance allowing off-road vehicles to drive along a specific route in Shamokin. The route is about a mile and a half long, and it leads people to shops and restaurants downtown.
"There's the foot traffic that we need to get our businesses to a level where they can survive and hire more employees," Mayor Brown said.
In the past two years, the city has worked with Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area to allow off-road vehicles to ride on city streets for several special events. Mayor Brown said those events drew in a lot of people.
Dave Porzi of Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area is looking forward to the change.
"Now our riders will have the ability to drive into the city for tourism, get something to eat, buy gas, go to the auto parts store," Porzi said.
Freda Williams owns The Dining Room at the Sweet Tooth Cafe in Shamokin. She is optimistic about the ordinance.
"We just need it because things have gotten lethargic here on Independence Street, and I think bringing the ATVs will bring in a lot of business and a lot of new people to the area, which the businesses need," Williams said.
Caitlyn Pope of Shamokin has some concerns.
"It shouldn't be no problem, but I think if it [does] start getting noisy, the residents might be like, 'yeah, we don't want this no more,'" Pope said.
Off-road vehicles will be allowed to start riding through the city starting Saturday at 10 a.m. Drivers must have a license and insurance, wear a helmet, and follow regular traffic laws.