Locally, we have some roads that are part of a subdivision (not gated) that are private (neither owned or maintained by the county) but the roads are open to all who have occassion to use them. Some residents allow their teenagers to ride their ATV's on the roads which in turn prompts other residents to call the SO.

Transportation Code Sec. 663.037 prohibits operation of an all-terrain vehicle on a 'public' street, etc. Chapter 663 does not define "public" street.

How are your jurisdictions handling this problem?

It is a public road. But the real question might be more about how you and your SO want to deal with it. Maybe a few warnings, slaps on the wrist at first might do the trick--especially if it is only one or two persons repeatedly doing it. If you want to be very hands off, you could just say it's against the law, ask the officers to give them tickets and let them come to JP court. Sometimes neighbors calling in reports on each other can get to be a big deal with a lot of back and forth, so it probably depends on who is doing the calling and why. In my previous county, where we had a lot of these subdivisions, there would have been a ticket written for sure. And I've seen similar tickets for kids driving golf courts in gated communities, even. Needless to say, tickets don't go over well with the parents who gave them permission to drive in the street in the first place. Man, I don't miss JP court--people fight parking tickets harder than felons fight their probations!

Suzanne, I agree wholeheartedly with your post. Upon what are you resting your conclusion that its a "public" road? Case law or statute?

I did some research a while back on public roads for DWIs in those "private" communities. I would think the analysis would be the same for other rules of the road, such as the ATV rule. Here are same cases so you can see if you think it applies to your situation:

Gonzalez v. State, 4th COA, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 6489

Schmidt v. State, 1st Dist, Houston, 1996 Tex. App. LEXIS 867

Woodruff v. State, COA 3rd, Austin, 899 S.W.2d 443

I haven't checked in the DWI tab above for this issue, but that might be a place to look as well.