ATV use on municipal, county roads concerns local residents

Residents in the community are unhappy that some all-terrain vehicle (ATV) operators are travelling on municipal and county roads with little regard for peace and quiet or safety.

Marianne Duquette, who lives near Treadwell Road, said she is "fed up" with the constant noise and lack of respect some operators have when traveling down the busy road.

"There are rules for ATV operators and in many cases, the ones I see are breaking the rules," she said, adding she often sees riders traveling at high rates of speed and recently, she witnessed one rider driving down the road on two wheels.

"He was up on two wheels just zooming down the road," she stated. "Is that safe? I don't think so. This is a busy road and there are a lot of sharp turns and hills. I seriously worry that someone is going to get hurt or worse, killed."

Mario Allaire lives near Concession 4 and he said he can't stand the noise.

"If they're going to ride them, that's one thing," he remarked. "But the noise some of these guys make it just deafening. There's no need for it. The police have been around, but nothing gets done. I know a lot of my neighbours are ticked off about it too."

Timothy, 16 and his friend, Jason, 15 said they ride their ATVs up and down the road to gain access to some of the trails located on their friends' properties.

"I guess sometimes we act stupid when we're riding," Timothy stated. "I know I go to fast sometimes and I show off doing tricks. It's not safe, but I guess I don't think about that when I'm doing it."

Marc Daigneault, chief administrative officer with the Township of Alfred-Plantagenet, said the township does have a bylaw that regulates ATV access to local roads and unopened road allowances.

"The bylaw provides a list of public highways and unopened road allowances upon which the ATV club members are allowed to use as trails," he told The Review. "ATVs are not allowed to use any other road or road allowance, but not all ATV riders are members of the local club. The OPP can charge them in accordance with the Highway Traffic Act if they are found traveling on an unauthorized public highway or road allowance."

Daigneault said the ATV club asks its members to comply with the provisions of the Highway Traffic Act and local bylaws when legally traveling on roads. He said ATVs are required to travel 20 kilometres an hour slower than the posted speed limit.

In Alfred-Plantagenet, there are a number of roads and road allowances ATV riders are allowed to use, however, they are only allowed to use Concession 4 up to Peladeau Road.

The United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) also has bylaws in place to regulate the operation of ATVs.  Marc Clermont, director of public works, noted that on counties roads, ATVs must travel 20 km/h if the speed limit is not greater than 50 km/h, and 50 km/h if the speed limit is greater than 80 km/h.

In addition, ATVs are not be permitted to travel on any other unopened or opened road allowances under municipal jurisdiction that are not mentioned in the bylaw, with the exception of farmers, licensed trappers and representatives of government while carrying out legitimate duties.

The UCPR bylaw also states that no ATVs are permitted on any roads between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

In Alfred-Plantagenet, ATVs are permitted to travel on County Road 9 (Treadwell Road) east and west from Concession 6 to 7, which is a distance of approximately 1.5 kilometres.

The Review attempted to contact the Hawkesbury detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to find out if there have been any complaints made in the Plantagenet area, but there was no response to the calls as of press time.

However, the detachment did issue a press release regarding ATVs in Alfred in May, stating officers recently patrolled the Alfred area in response to complaints received about ATVs and dirt bikes. The charges included failing to register ATV, failing to wear helmet on an off-road vehicle, unlawfully driving an off-road vehicle on a highway, and carrying passengers on off-road vehicles on the highway.