Wellington North council has decided to investigate the possibility of having all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) permitted on municipal roads.
“I know we have neighbouring communities that do permit them on their roads and I know they are being used on our roads to some extent. I certainly don’t want residents to be caught out,” said Mayor Andy Lennox during the council meeting on Oct. 5.
The motion, brought forward as a notice of motion by Lennox on Sept. 28, was carried and will be brought back to council in the future.
During the motion’s discussion on Sept. 28, Lennox said he recently found out about changes to provincial laws regarding ATVs at a county council meeting and wanted to know how they apply in the municipality.
“We’ve a number of residents who are using ATVs on roadways and I would hate to see them get caught up in some enforcement,” he said.
“We maybe want to select where we allow ATVs but I think allowing ATVs on some of our rural roads would be appropriate.”
Councillor Steve McCabe asked if it was possible.
“Can we do that? Currently they are not allowed anywhere in Wellington County,” said McCabe.
Lennox explained the law surrounding ATVs allows municipalities to grant permission.
“At the recent county council meeting we had some discussion on this issue and county council decided to not take any action, but they also said if particularly our more rural municipalities – Minto, Mapleton and ourselves – if we choose collectively to do that, then they would designate county roads in those areas to allow them as well,” he said.
Lennox added the three municipalities could work together to have a uniform decision for easier enforcement.
The report will come back to council for a decision at a future date.
