ATV riders may soon have more access to some city hotels. File photo.
Those who enjoy the thrill of the trails on an All Terrain Vehicle may soon have more access to North Bay.
A bylaw, set to be approved in a couple of weeks, will open up some trails to provide access to the southern part of the city.
The By-law is posted on the City website. See it here.
http://www.cityofnorthbay.ca/common/pdf/2015-08-19_ORV_By-Law.pdf
Councillor Mark King, who initiated the bylaw, says it’s very limited in scope.
“Basically allows the access to ATV’s into the city, only from the Voyer Trail which connects North Bay to East Ferris. Only on the Voyer trail along Birch’s Road through to the Best Western and at the same time would connect on Pinewood Drive through to the Clarion.”
The change is not that major, according to King, and was actually scaled down from the original draft plan, which had called for ATVs to access some secondary roads in the city as well.
The reason for the increased access is simple, according to King: access to those roads allows money to be spent in the city.
“We know there are other major centers like Peterborough for example which allow a lot of ATV access into the hotels, motels, gas stations and restaurants. And it’s much the same as the access that snowmobilers enjoy now in the winter time. So it’s a big opportunity. ATVing is a big industry. We have some of the best trails especially east of the city in the East Ferris area, Bonfield, and Mattawa. This will now allow ATVers to travel from the Clarion or the Best Western to Mattawa. That's essentially what it means.”
The noise will be strictly controlled, with fines imposed for offenders changing their ATVs to make them louder.
That should make the increased ATV traffic more acceptable for neighbourhoods within the area of the bylaw.
King also points out that the change to allow more access to the city for ATVs will please the riders, but will not be anything they're not used to.
“East Ferris for example; they have a bylaw that allows ATV’s to use secondary roads in their township. The same thing applies in Bonfield, and also in Mattawa, and I believe Callander has the same thing also. This isn’t a big change for ATVers. They understand how it works. We’re actually behind the curve on this. These other communities were well ahead of us.”
The bylaw, expected to pass with no problems, should mean the city won’t ‘trail’ the other area communities much longer.
