DIXFIELD — Thanks to a $6,000 grant received this month, local police will increase contacts with ATV riders from now through the end of July, Lt. Jeff Howe said Thursday morning.

Officers have been issuing warnings to get people used to the idea that driving ATVs or dirt bikes around town has been illegal since 2012 when voters approved a new ATV ordinance. Now they will be targeting ATV access routes in Dixfield.

“We will be issuing a lot of summonses soon,” Howe said. “This weekend, we will be taking stricter action. Nonresidents cannot operate on a public way. The only way they can be here legally is to be on the ATV Access Route.”

The ATV ordinance allows an in-town resident to ride from their residence to a trail head without using Weld Street or Main Street when trails are open, because these are state roads, not town roads. Howe said trails aren’t open yet.

The town policy does not allow for operation on the streets just to go around town.

Dixfield police also received a safety belt enforcement grant and will be stopping vehicles to check on use and provide education to drivers and passengers.