KINGFIELD — ATV riders and area residents shared their suggestions and concerns on Monday night about a proposed ATV access route in a residential neighborhood.

The Kingfield Quad Runners ATV club had asked selectmen at a recent meeting for approval to access a town-owned right of way that will link the east and west side of the Carrabassett River.

According to club representative Bentley Woodcock, the 60-foot-wide strip of land near the intersection of Maple Street and Stanley Avenue would allow riders to enter Stanley Avenue next to Henry Williams’ residence, cross a small bridge and reconnect to the trail.

The town has 35 miles of multi-use trails, and the section the club is asking permission to use is very short, according to Woodcock. He explained that a nearby landowner allows snowmobiles across his property in the winter but doesn’t want the noise of ATVs in the summer when his windows are open.

This is the fourth summer the town has allowed ATV travel within village limits, and he suggested that club members have tried their best not to abuse the privilege. He addresses complaints personally and resolves most problems with a few quick phone calls.

“This was our last option to use this 60-foot right of way,” Woodcock told selectmen and the audience.

This addition to trail access would link eastern Maine trail sections, including Lexington Township, Solon and Bingham, to western Maine trail sections in Kingfield, Carrabassett, Salem Township, Strong, Phillips and Rangeley.

Although the possibility of the vast ATV trail connection has been a dream come true for ATV riders, the possibility posed the threat of a reduced quality of life for those in the quiet, wooded residential neighborhood.

“It’s going to affect people,” Selectman Merv Wilson said. “But it can’t be any louder than having a Harley riding through town.”

ATV club members agreed the 1 percent of riders who go over the speed limit and create muddy trail sections could ruin the hard work of respectful riders. Club representatives who hoped for the access also agreed with property owners that they couldn’t guarantee the trail wouldn’t be heavily used or that some scofflaws would abuse the privilege.

Jonathan Beattie, a forester who said he was new to the town, said he lives next to Williams. Beattie said the proposed right of way is a mapped wetland and is muddy nearly all the time. He shared his concern that the land would not support sustained motorized traffic. For selectmen to grant access without long-term concern for the property would be unwise.

“You’ve got to get it right the first time, because you can’t go backwards,” he said.

Jeff Ireland, a member of the Bingham-based Moose Alley ATV Club, suggested resolving the mud problem with some of the methods that the forestry industry uses to create passable roads in unfavorable conditions.

“There are a lot of products on the market,” he suggested

Riders might stay in the local hotel and dine and shop in the area, which would provide an economic benefit, suggested some advocates. Landscaper and resident Birch Royall said he knew at least one person who did just that.

“I have a customer who purchased 100 acres just to ride on this trail,” he said. “It’s a good thing that things like this are happening.”

The respectful and thoughtful discussion frequently returned to original concerns of residents. Connecting the state through this one short right of way in someone’s backyard didn’t appear to promise peace and quiet, said one neighborhood resident.

“If this is the link, it seems we are going do get a lot of traffic,” David Guernsey said. “Has anyone done an estimate?”

The Maine Department of Transportation prohibits riders from accessing roadways with more than a 25-mph speed limit. Riders also are allowed to travel one half-hour after sunrise and one half-hour before sunset.

Selectmen declined to make a decision without hearing more thoughts from property owners and municipal officials.