Is this road outside of Oakdale really unsafe? The debate could be decided in court
It’s not abundantly clear whether Old Colony Road is private or public.
But the unpaved road, measuring one third of a mile, is at the heart of a debate over safety and liability. The obscure road runs along a drainage lateral between upper Horseshoe Road and lower Horseshoe Road, off Orange Blossom Avenue, east of Oakdale.
Joseph Monterosso, who owns a home at the western end of the road, filed a claim June 17 challenging Stanislaus County’s determination that Old Colony is a public road maintained by the county.
Noting the “dangerous dirt strip” is on his property, Monterosso has appeared before the Board of Supervisors for months demanding the county close off the road before someone gets hurt and takes legal action against the property owners. There are six other properties adjoining the road.
Monterosso said the road has chuck holes, and vehicles could easily roll over into the drainage channel.
“It is just a dirt street and it is extremely dangerous,” Monterosso said this month.
The homeowner has surveillance camera photos of adults and children riding on ATVs and golf carts on the road. He said when people drive on the road late at night, headlights shine in his windows.
After county Public Works made a determination in November that it’s not a county road and it’s a neighborhood issue, Monterosso gathered signatures from five of the seven adjoining property owners agreeing to gate the road.
County staff found records that a petition to make Old Colony a county road in 1917 was rejected. But more digging through archives uncovered a 1937 card that suggests the county graded dirt on the road — some 85 years ago, making it public.
By late January, county officials decided the road was public and began preliminary talks to abandon Old Colony Road.
The “public” road looks like a tunnel through the trees and appears to serve residents in a cluster of shaded ranchettes, nestled in the low foothills. The county mailed survey letters Jan. 31 asking 67 property owners if they favored the road abandonment.
A large majority marked the box opposing the road closure.
County Supervisor Buck Condit, who represents the Oakdale-Riverbank area, said county officials met with Monterosso on March 30 to explain the county’s position and share the results of the neighborhood polling.
“We have determined it’s a public road that is used by the community,” Condit said last week. The supervisor pointed out that Monterosso, in addressing the board, usually provides photos of people using the road.
Condit said there are safety issues posed by any roadway. “What is probably going to happen is we will have to litigate the issues, which is his right to do,” Condit said.
Monterosso argued that the county will waste taxpayer money on litigation costs if the matter goes to court.
He said his attorney estimated it will cost him $100,000 for a civil case taking one or two years. A simple decision to close the road access would avoid a tragedy and a legal judgment against the county if someone is seriously injured on the road, Monterosso added.
He pointed to the death of a 21-year-old man who drove an ATV into a canal between Grayson and Highway 132 in June.
County Counsel Thomas Boze said the question about the private or public status of Old Colony Road is the kind of complex issue decided in civil court.
“Our staff has done their best to figure that out,” Boze said. “The exact legal status, as with many other old roads in the county, is in question. What we do know is people use the road. ... The (property owners) need to establish they have the legal right to close the road.”
Boze said another question is whether injuries have occurred on the road east of Oakdale.
At least one of the five adjoining property owners, who agreed with installing a gate, told The Modesto Bee he changed his mind when the county polled the neighborhood.
Monterosso continued to advocate for closing the road at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting and he promised to be back in two weeks.
“They are taking every bit of time to drag this out,” Monterosso said. “This puts all of us in danger.”
This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 11:59 AM.
