Street access to local snowmobile and ATV trails was debated at City Hall this week.
City Clerk Steph Palmateer explained the report.
“This report was the product of requests that we received, first by the snowmobile club here in the city of Timmins as well as ATV enthusiasts who contacted various members of council. At that time they were requesting access to basically all the streets within the city of Timmins,” said Palmateer.
He said that council re-directed the issue back to city staff for a report and comments from the Police Chief and the Director of Public Works and Engineering.
The report states that: “Both groups will be advised that access to all streets is not an option and specifically the streets outlined by the Director of Public Works & Engineering will also not be given consideration for access.”
There is a question of seasonal access, whether or not the streets requested would be used in summer and/or winter months, and obvious dangers of having minors riding through traffic.
The Director of Public Works and Engineering, Luc Duval said within the report, his criteria would prohibit ATV access on roadways such as:
- The entire connecting link (Algonquin, Riverside, Lionscrest, Harold, King)
- Highways (Airport Road, Kamiskotia, Frederickhouse, Municipal Road)
- Any street without sidewalks
- School Zones
- Streets with posted speed limits higher than 60km per hour
The report also reminds council of an incident in December 2014, in which a Timmins Police Service officer was dragged by snowmobile while he was conducting traffic control for a community event.
A snowmobile was illegally travelling east on Second Avenue near the Public Library when the operator stopped momentarily, then accelerated towards the officer while attempting to flee.
The officer's clothing became caught in the snowmobile, and he was dragged for approximately 30 metres towards a busy intersection.
The snowmobile operator was charged with nine different offences, including dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
Sgt. Tom Chypyha, whom Police Chief John Gauthier calls the TPS' expert on traffic related matters, said in the report: “From my experience, for every driver who is driving responsibly on the roadway to gain access to the trail system, there are at least five operators who will drive in a dangerous manner and make no attempt to stop for the police.”
Palmateer went on to say that it was 'unanimous' that allowing ATVs and snowmobiles on all streets in not a good idea.
Instead, they have requested that the groups make requests for specific streets and have some solid reasoning behind them.
“...so that both Public Works, the Chief of Police, and other services can properly assess the routes to make sure they can be done safely,” said Palmateer.
Mayor Steve Black made it clear to council that they were not voting on allowing access, but simply making the request to the concerned groups to submit their wish list.
Councillor Pat Bamford was, as he often is, first to speak up.
“Quite frankly, I'm going to look at them very clearly because I'm not prone to seeing the merit in this. They've managed so far. They'll have to explain why that's so essential,” he said.
“We can't be naive to think that as soon as council of the City of Timmins passes a bylaw, everybody follows it. It's not true. There's all kinds of bylaws out there people are breaking,” said Bamford.
The Ward 4 councillor says in the past few years, he has received enough complaints of illegal snowmobiling 'to sink a battleship'.
“A lot of the complaints I've had in the east end have been about things like after-market mufflers,” he said.
Councillor Andre Grzela praised Palmateer for bringing the matter back to council for discussion.
He also pointed out how certain streets are already designated for recreational vehicle access and that winter tourism is legitimate in Timmins.
“How about we look at this, and see if we can supplement that more? Let's encourage what we have in Timmins. We have a lot of snow,” said Grzela.
Councillor Mike Doody said city council has had a good relationship with the Timmins Snowmobile Club over the years.
“They realize that there will be some people who will try to break the bylaw. You can hear them, especially if its later in the evening, it can be annoying. But I have no problems listening to them, I believe they want to come to council and make a presentation,” said Doody.
Councillor Joe Campbell said he has several concerns on the issue.
“I too, would look at maybe some routes to access the trails, but certainly not opening up the entire city to have snowmobiles running around,” he said.
Campbell acknowledged that it is a 'tourism issue' as well as affecting locals.
“People are whizzing past my house continuously at night, even though they're not supposed to be on that street,” he said.
Campbell also said he has received one complaint from a citizen who was unhappy with the position he's taken on the matter.
“That's the way it is. I prefer that the safety of all our residents is considered in this, and the concerns of the Police department have to be considered as well,” he said.
Council voted unanimously to have the groups prepare their specific requests to city officials to consider.
The matter will be back on the council agenda in the near future.
