VA. Our only access to our 17 acres is a .5 mile long discontinued road which we must maintain with no help from the county, state, or neighbors. Our driveway goes off at the end of this road beside the creek and only one other couple uses the road as their sole driveway. The sheriff's dept. says only licensed, registered vehicles are permitted on our road, yet no one apprehends the ATVs, dirt bikes, unlicensed jeeps and 4WD vehicles that use our road recreationally, making ruts, scattering the gravel, spinning doughnuts in the grass we planted, running over the shrubbery we planted, littering, dumping, vandalizing, stealing, and causing some frightening incidents involving our car, horseback riders, and hikers.

Since the law cannot stop the illegal traffic, we have been told by county officials we may install unlocked gates. These have been immensely helpful in deterring the problem traffic. However, a few people who do not live nearby yet once in a while choose to traverse the rough trail, through the creek & our road have pitched a fit about the gates, claiming their rights are being violated and threatening to pull them down.

It is frustrating to say the least to have to invest time and money in the maintenance of the road only to have it used and abused by people who have absolutely no need whatsoever to drive on it. We don't understand why, if there are people who want to traverse this road, that we should have to maintain it. I've heard that the county gets money for discontinued roads so is reluctant to declare a road abandoned.