Brighton — A number of Brighton-area residents spoke out at a public meeting held to discuss ATVs on public roads. The all-terrain vehicles currently do not have access to public roads in the Brighton municipality, but council does have the authority, through the highway traffic act, to create a bylaw granting access.
Jim Phillips, director of public works, said some Northumberland municipalities have already passed the bylaw.
Mike Ainsworth, president of the Northumberland ATV Riders, would like to see the bylaw passed in Brighton. The organization is working on a proposed trail that would link five municipalities in Northumberland Cty. It would also like open road access north of Cty. Rd 21.
“We’ve been going on two years, trying to get this bylaw passed,” Ainsworth said. He said the bylaw has worked well in other municipalities.
“They’re working, and they’ve been working for years.”
Ainsworth said current restrictions are not fair to responsible ATV riders.
“You take it off your property and you are fined,” he said. “That’s not fair to us as taxpayers either.”
He pointed out ATV riders have been on the roads for years. “Without the bylaw, people will be running from the police.”
He said riders would continue to be on the roads, regardless of whether or not the bylaw is passed.
“We really want to make it legal.”
Ainsworth also said ATV riding is among the safest of summer recreational activities.
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“There’s more chance from dying from an insect bite or getting hit by lightening than on an ATV,” he said, citing statistics.
Doreen Boville, a health promoter with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, said her concern with opening up roads to ATVs was not for the riders alone.
“Having the ATVs on the side of the road is a safety concern,” she said. “I’m looking at it from the perspective of all road users.”
She said that as the number of ATV riders has increased in recent years, so has the number of incidents.
Although she is not “anti-ATV,” Boville said there are specific risks associated with ATVs having access to public roads. Common factors linked to ATV mishaps include the rider’s lack of training, the speed of the vehicle, improper apparel and alcohol use. Moreover, the actual construction of the ATVs themselves could present a problem, should road access be granted she said.
“The tires are designed to provide tread slip under some conditions and grip in some conditions,” Boville said. ATV tires are not designed for road use. If the tires are half on the road and half on the shoulder, a rut could completely offset the machine, she said.
John Harwood read from a prepared statement on behalf of a number of fellow Hilton residents.
He said that if ATVs were allowed access to public highways, inappropriate behaviour could still continue, as the bylaw would apply to all ATV users, not just those who belong to an organization that encourages responsible use.
“If permission is given, it will be very hard, if not next-to-impossible to reverse it,” he said. Harwood believes that if the bylaw is passed, it would open up a new door and people would want ATVs to go everywhere.
Joyce Higgs of Trent Hills said unlimited public road access is unwarranted.
“If a bylaw is passed, ATV riders will have the right to ride on any public road for any reason they want,” she said. She said ATV riders claim they will travel only on the shoulders of public roads, but if the shoulders aren’t there, they would have to go on the roads.
Higgs raised the question of the municipality’s liability, should the bylaw be passed. She said its insurance rates could increase as a result of incidents associated with ATVs.
Ainsworth directly questioned council members on liability concerns.
“If something happens to me on my ATV in your municipality, can I sue you?” he asked.
“Our liability is limited as long as we don’t have a bylaw,” said Councillor Brian Ostrander.
Brighton naturalist Doug McRae presented his concerns from an environmental perspective. They had to do with the wildlife in areas where road access is currently denied to ATVs.
“It should be one route to get across, rather than opening everything up,” he said.
“I’m disturbed that people are looking to make something legal, just because people are already breaking the law,” he added.
Mayor Chris Herrington noted a common theme in all the concerns that had been raised.
“Everyone spoke about safety,” she said.
“We have to consider everyone here,” she added. “We are slightly more densely populated than we may think.
“A comment was made... that people settle out there for a reason,” Herrington, said referring to residents who live on small rural roads. “They do.
“It’s not going to be easy for council to make a decision.”
Phillips said the municipality will make its decision on an ATV bylaw in May or June, following an inter-municipal meeting.
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