COCHRANE - After concerns were brought to light by some local businesses, Cochrane is considering creating a bylaw to allow forklifts on municipal roads.
Cochrane Board of Trade president Frank Louvelle talked to council on Tuesday (March 26) after recent complaints from OPP officers about businesses operating forklifts on municipal roads.
In a letter to the town, Louvelle said in the past, police “paid little attention to forklift operators on our municipal roads as long as they operated safely." Recently, police have started issuing warnings to forklift operators.
“I want to stress, we at the board of trade have tremendous respect and appreciation for our local OPP officers and the great work they do in the community,” Louvelle told councillors.
“To be clear, they are following the Highway Traffic Act with regards to the process. But the problem is the rules of these acts are having a negative impact on our businesses.”
All of the councillors agreed a bylaw is needed. Staff will draft a report to bring back to a future council meeting.
“I definitely would like to see something be done about this because it does affect a lot of businesses and a lot of our events throughout the community throughout the year," said Coun. Rodney Hoogenhoud.
In the community, several businesses heavily rely on forklifts to transport goods and materials, said Louvelle. Prohibiting forklifts on municipal roads would cause significant financial hardship to many business owners and make moving goods more complex and expensive.
“One of the problems is there’s only really a few businesses that have forklifts in town, so they use them for their operations, but also they help out other businesses, which helps to reduce their costs,” he said.
“They can rent them out and it also reduces the cost of other businesses that need to move freight. So it’s a win-win situation.”
Louvelle attached letters to his presentation from local business owners and organizations — including the Cochrane Agricultural Society, Cochrane Truck and Tractor, Y&S Incorporated and Bourque Auto Sales — supporting the request and expressing their concerns.
Sheila Girard, manager of Y&S Incorporated, said they rely heavily on Allan’s Home Hardware's forklift to help with large orders.
“With the loss of the forklift, I would be unable to receive sign material, hot tub and pool chemicals, light sign boxes, amongst many other items. Without these items, my store would be in danger of closing its doors,” she wrote in her letter.
Bourque Auto Sales owner Jasen Larocque said in his letter that they were one of the individuals to be recently given a warning by the OPP.
Louvelle said he understands it boils down to safety concerns, but believes those can be addressed through proper training and regulation.
“In fact, this might even be a good opportunity to evaluate and ensure good safety measures by developing a good bylaw by engaging OPP and the Ministry of Transportation,” he said.
Louvelle said because the town already has a bylaw allowing snowmobiles and ATVs on municipal roads, “a precedent has already been set.”
