Riverview Town Council has voted against a proposed bylaw which would have allowed all-terrain vehicles to access some streets for fuel and food.
During this week’s regular council meeting, councillors said they received a lot of feedback about the proposal recently and most residents were opposed to the idea.
Staff had already recommended that council not allow ATV access and said the town did not have the resources available to enforce it which could lead to liability concerns.
A previous town survey garnered responses from 632 Riverview residents with 70 percent in favour of off-road vehicles being allowed access to designated town streets, 25 percent were not in favour and 5 percent were unsure.
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Councillor Jeremy Thorne noted how enforcement of a proposed bylaw would not be possible.
“The RCMP has already publicly declared that they will not pursue ATV drivers at large and hiring additional bylaw officers seems pointless to me since their powers are even more limited. This again is a misguided use of taxpayer’s money.”
As the owner of two all-terrain vehicles, Councillor Russell Hayward was the only member of council who initially spoke in favour of the bylaw.
Deputy mayor Wayne Bennett was also concerned about enforcement and said he recently witnessed dangerous behaviour.
“Three ATVs came out (off Callowhill Road) and two of them together were racing down Trites Road. The other one went on the side of the road where he should have been.”
Councillor Heath Johnson had put forth an amendment to allow ATV access on a portion of Findlay Boulevard, Gunningsville Boulevard and Pine Glen Road.
In the end, council did not support the amendment and the proposed bylaw was unanimously defeated.
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