Public steers into issue: OHV traffic on streets

Town of Yarmouth reached out for public input

Enforcement and proceeding at a cautious pace were two of the most common overriding messages people who turned out for a public consultation session about opening up streets to off-highway vehicle (OHV) traffic had for the Town of Yarmouth.

The town, following the province’s passage of a Roads Trail Act that gives municipalities the authority to designate roads and streets for OHVs, recently turned to the public for its views on the issue. The town has drafted a bylaw that would open up Water Street to OHVs so that it would not only link two trails for recreation, but would also open up tourism and economic opportunities.

The session was very well attended with many people expressing their views on the topic.

David Sollows lives on Walker Street, which is near a rail trail. While he said there are many responsible ATVers that use the trail there are also many irresponsible users too. Speed and noise were some issues he noted. And, he said, he’s also witnessed this on Water Street, evening though OHVs and ATVs are not permitted on it.

He described observing one operator traveling in excess of 80 km/h. When he came to a stop sign “he just blew right through it.”

He’s concerned that the ability to enforce the regulations on Water Street will be challenging.

“We have never had an issue with responsible ATV users,” he said.

He also raised concerns about using Walker Street as an access point for vehicles to get to the Irving gas station, noting there are visibility issues where the street intersects with Main Street.

He says the town should proceed slowly with its plans so that everything is well thought out.

John Ryan asked questions on behalf of ‘responsible ATV users.’ He asked if rather than designating streets, the town might consider that an individual could travel a specified maximum distance to access a restaurant, gas station, trail, etc.

The town said it was an interesting suggestion, but the provincial act only gives it the authority to designate streets, not travel distances.

Wendy Poole, a town resident and member of the Yarmouth Environmental Think Tank group, said from a personal perspective she was disappointed in the province

and the town for moving forward with a policy that was going to encourage more use of gas-powered vehicles that will emit more greenhouse gases.

But since the town seems intent on designating at least one street as a road trail, the group encourages the town to take a cautious approach.

“It might be wise to limit it to that for the time being,” she said about designating Water Street as a road trail. While she said there are many responsible OHV operators, there are irresponsible operators as well.

She also noted the group was concerned over the fact that during the summer, Water Street has many community and family-orientated events, which means an increase in pedestrian traffic. Therefore, safety has to be a paramount concern.

Also important, she said, are penalties for those who don’t abide by the rules, and enforcement in order for something like this to work for the benefit of everyone.

George Emin told the

town there will always be bad apples in any group, but there are also a lot of good and responsible off-highway vehicle users. He said you can’t disallow the enjoyment of the majority of users because of those ‘bad apples’ any more than you would ban the use of cars because of bad drivers.

He also suggested that if the plan involving Water Street does go through, and if the town considers opening up other streets, they might look at allowing OHVs to access the Brown Street parking lot as a means of accessing amenities on Main Street.

Glenn Diggdon told the town he honestly believes that opening up Water Street to OHVs could work and would be beneficial from a recreation, tourism and economic perspective.

“I believe with the right rules in place, the right regulations, and being enforced that your responsible drivers will follow them,” he said. As far as the irresponsible drivers, he said whether or not the town passes this bylaw those drivers will exist.

“I personally am for a route of some kind through the town of Yarmouth,” he said, which can connect the trails.

J.P. Ferron asked the town whether there has been a survey conducted of residents and businesses for their input.

He also noted that Water Street tends to be a rather social centre of the town, particularly during the summer and questioned whether the town has also studied alternate routes.

He suggested that the bylaw should have a trial period.

The critical factor, he said, will be enforcement. Without enforcement, he suggested opening streets to OHVs will probably lead to more headaches and a situation that could grow out of control.

Janet Beatty also spoke about the concern of enforcement and also suggested that the town consider implementing a bylaw on a trial basis. She said when it comes to irresponsible operators, it would be good to see the responsible drivers and users, through peer pressure, keeping

the others in line.

Still, she said if things do get out control, perhaps the town might want to consider having the ability to rescind the bylaw.

Ken Piggott told the town to reach out to the Weymouth area where a pilot project has taken place concerning OHVs. He said there have been positives and negatives that a municipal unit could learn from. He also said he would not recommend using Starrs Road as a roads trail because it is a heavy-traffic road already.

Ron Goudey, president of the Sou’West Nova ATV Association, said he sees benefits to opening up Water Street to OHVs. But he, as well, said Starrs Road, being one of the busiest streets in the town, should not be opened up to OHV traffic.

Goudey added a benefit in the future would be if riders could access the Mariners Centre so that jamborees could be held there. He said in the past they’ve never been able to hold jamboree events in the town because there is nowhere large enough that people can get to with their vehicles.

Kevin Lombard, president of the ATV Association of Nova Scotia, also noted that enforcement is an important aspect to this. But he also spoke of other towns and cities where OHVs are permitted on roads and said it’s working out great. Pointing to Edmundston, N.B. as one example, he said when it comes to the good and the ugly, there is no ugly.

Town resident David

Upton also noted that whether or not the town has designated streets for OHVs, there will still be people traveling on them anyway. He thinks having something official is the better route to go, noting off-highway vehicles are very much a family form of recreation now, which is another added benefit.