Shelburne looking for provincial OK to permit OHV use on town roads

The Town of Shelburne is seeking regulatory approval from the province that would allow for the operation of offhighway vehicles (OHV) on certain town streets.

The Municipality of Shelburne is backing the request.

In a letter to Lloyd Hines, Minister of Transportation and Active Transit, Shelburne Mayor Harold Locke said the town was writing to “communicate our support for the government to not only expand the pilot of allowing Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) on specific roadways but also consider changes to the Motor Vehicle Act to permit OHV on specified town streets.”

In October 2018, Nova Scotia launched a three-year pilot project in seven communities across the province to safely enhance trail connectivity for OHV. The pilot enables OHVs to access the shoulders of roadways, and the roadway itself where necessary, in order to safely travel from one OHV trail to another or to access facilities, such as gas stations, in selected pilot areas.

“We think the evidence from the current pilot projects, coupled with the experience of other jurisdictions outside of Nova Scotia who have already gone forward with this sort of initiative, should be ample evidence to support moving forward sooner rather than later,” said Mayor Locke. “We have reached out to a number of municipalities that are part of the pilot project and they are heralding praises on its success for their communities.”

The pilot projects, which are due to wrap up in October 2021, are being conducted Weymouth, Digby County; in Ship Harbour and Porters Lake in Halifax Regional Municipality; New Germany, Lunenburg County; Walton in East Hants; Sherbrook, Guysborough County; and Gabarus, Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

“These locations were chosen based on provincial roads with lower vehicle volume and slower speeds, the distance of road access needed to connect to trail heads or amenities and having clear traffic sightlines,” said Andrea Frydl, spokesperson for the Department of Transportation and Active Transit.

“The evaluation for the current pilot is examining such factors as interactions with other road users, safety considerations, any impact on highway shoulders and other highway infrastructure, economic impacts, as well as violation and injury data," she said. "Upon conclusion of the pilot and after reviewing the evaluation, the department will be able to make informed decisions regarding OHVs operation on provincial roads provincewide.”

Mayor Locke said there are many examples across the country of the economic and social benefits being derived from permitting OHV's into towns by using town and city streets.

“The volunteers who maintain multi-use trails on both sides of the town are anxious to be able to make connections to other trails and our community amenities,” wrote the mayor. “We commend your efforts to ensure the evidence exists to support the decision and we now urge you to move forward and open this important opportunity to Nova Scotia.

“In the meantime, the

Town of Shelburne requests provincial regulatory approval to permit OHV use on roads within the town to which we will follow the rules and regulations developed for and by the Sharing the Road Pilot Project,” he said. “The town is also willing to apply the regulatory approval for a trial period if necessary and useful to the decision makers.”

Via email, Mayor Locke said the streets being considered to connect multi-trail users through the town are King to Water streets north and Falls Lane.

With the majority of town residents – in a plebiscite last fall as part of the town's municipal election – voting they were not in favour of opening up the rail trail as it passes through town to off-highway vehicles, Mayor Locke said town council feels this “is the best solution for the town."

"There are studies being done in other communities and we want our thoughts to be considered in regard to these studies," he said.

The Municipality of Shelburne has also written to the transportation minister in support of the Town of Shelburne's request to expand the OHV pilot project to their community.

“We hope the minister will look favorably on including the Town of Shelburne in this pilot as it could be a significant economic boost to the local businesses and provide connectivity to the Municipality of Shelburne's trails,” said Warden Penny Smith.

The request from the town is different from the pilot project, which does not apply to municipal roads and town streets, only to provincial roads, notes Frydl.

“The Off-Highway Vehicles Act, through regulations, permits OHV's to travel along the road shoulders and the roadway itself by designating these areas as a trail,” she said. “Currently, a municipality or town does not have the authority to operate independently of these rules, however there may be an opportunity to accommodate the use of OHVs on some municipal roads and town streets after both the pilot evaluation has been reviewed and the consultation process for the Traffic Safety Act is completed.”