ATV bylaw amended

The first reading of the amended ATV bylaw went ahead at the city council meeting this week.

After three readings and a public consultation, council scrapped the draft ATV bylaw, and came up with a new one addressing some of the concerns raised by councillors and the public.

David St. Louis and Coun. Glenn Williams explained to council some of the fines had been lowered in this new draft bylaw and that the laws will be in effect 500 yards from any road maintained at the public’s expense.

All ATV operators — including hunters — will be required to wear a helmet, and all snow machines will have to be licensed and registered. If the new bylaw is passed it will mean no one under age 14 can operate an ATV within the municipality.

Fines for speeding will range from $100 to $250 and the fine for not having an ATV registered or insured will be $100 and $200 respectively.

After some debate, it was agreed to change the fine for unsuitable noise reduction equipment to $250 from $100, to crack down on drivers whose machines create unnecessary amounts of noise.

Williams stressed the need for the public to be made aware of all the changes before the next snow machine season, as the new bylaw could go into effect by the fall.