KENILWORTH – Wellington North council is sticking to low gear in dealing with off-road vehicles being used on township roads.
On Feb. 24, clerk Karren Wallace updated councillors regarding legislative amendments to use of off-road vehicles (ORV) on municipal roads.
Wallace’s recommendation was that council take no action regarding ORVs on municipal roads until such time as the regulations set out in Bill 107 are in effect in 2021.
Wallace said council has considered permitting ORVs on municipal roads since at least 2015.
She said it was determined, through research, an OPP information session and conversations with neighbouring municipalities, that unless neighbouring municipalities all permit ORVs on roads, enforcement becomes challenging for police as well as compliance by riders who need to know if the road is a municipal, or county road and in which municipality they are riding.
Wallace added that at the Nov. 4 open forum, ATVs on municipal roads were discussed and noted in the minutes as follows:
“Wellington County previously wasn’t interested in considering permitting ATVs on roadways, citing policing issues and jurisdiction of roads, although they might … be on board if the northern municipalities expressed interest.
“The Highway Traffic Act provides exceptions for ATVs on roadways for agricultural use. There are ATV trails in Grey County that Wellington North residents could access if they were allowed to use ATVs on our roads. ATVs would need to be licensed and insured year-round, similar to snowmobiles. Snowmobiles have trails but are also are driven on roads and highways.
“Municipalities in the northern part of the county have a different demographic and it was felt that it is time to more forward with this request to the county. Council directed the mayor and staff to enter discussions with the Township of Mapleton and the Town of Minto to determine common ground on permitting ATVs on municipal roads and on a consensus to approach county council.”
Wallace later added that Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece provided additional information from the Ministry of Transportation. Excerpts from that correspondence state:
“Under the existing legislation, off-road vehicles are only permitted to travel on certain provincial highways and [are prohibited] … on municipal roads unless the municipality passes a bylaw to allow for their use.”
Wallace said, “Bill 107 includes legislation that will expand the network by allowing off-road vehicles to operate in municipalities by default, if that municipality has a default speed limit of 80km/h (as listed in Regulation 8/03 of the Highway Traffic Act).”
She added, “Municipalities that do not want off-road vehicles on their municipal roads, have the option of passing a bylaw that would prohibit the operation of off-road vehicles on their roads.”
Wallace agreed the legislative changes are not yet in force but it is anticipated the new legislation and regulations will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2021, pending the necessary approvals. Until that time, the current rules remain in effect.
Wallace said council could:
– do nothing. Once the regulations are in place riders of ORVs may travel on municipal roads where the default speed limit is 80 km/h – a municipality does not need to do anything else to permit that use;
– permit them now. To permit riders to operate on municipal roads now, the municipality would need to pass a bylaw; or
– wait and see. The province is advising municipalities to wait until the proposed regulatory amendments are passed to ensure that any communication is accurate and aligned with the new rules. If a municipality impacted by this change does not want to allow these vehicles on their roads, they must pass a bylaw to continue the prohibition.
This would be different from the past when municipalities had to pass a bylaw to permit ATVs, she explained.
Wallace stated her report, “was really just to keep council up to date.”
Acting mayor Dan Yake asked if this means Wellington North should wait for more information on how this will work with the province.
Wallace said the township still has the option of passing a bylaw allowing ATVs on municipal roads.
“But you might have to revisit the issue depending on what the provincial regulations are,” she added. She said the current recommendation is to receive the report and wait until more is known.
Councillor Steve McCabe asked what could happen if the township passed a bylaw permitting them on local roads. Wallace said it creates a problem for police and the riders if some municipalities permit ATVs, others don’t, the county may not and ATVs remain banned from general use on Ontario highways.
“It just creates a lot of issues for the police to enforce this,” Wallace said.
Yake added, “It could create a hornet’s nest if we say yes and the county says no.”
Council chose to receive the report and wait for more information.
