Where to begin…
As everyone knows there was a very important council meeting on Tuesday where there was discussion about closing an important section of trail to our members.
I’m happy to say that the recommendation to close that section of trail was removed from the motion to accept the Trails Master Plan. What this means is that this particular recommendation will not go to council for a vote on April 18th and the trail will remain open to ATVs.
First I want to say thank you to the community of Fenelon Falls for speaking up to protect the shared use of the Victoria Rail Trail. The outpouring of support from the businesses and residents was astounding to us. We’ve never seen this kind of support from a community to protect our access to the trails. I honestly don’t think there is an example of this anywhere else in Ontario. This was not just about protecting ATV access to a trail, it was also about a community standing up for themselves and something they feel is a part of the community culture.
Thank you to those who took the time to write letters, sign petitions and call councillors to discuss the issue. Most of all, thanks to those who did deputations. Doing a deputation before council can be very intimidating for anyone and we were lucky enough to have a few people who were willing to stand up and speak their minds in support of leaving the trail open, including some who don’t even own ATVs or sleds. Unlike those who spoke against ATVs, you all spoke with respect and facts. You didn’t make up or embellish stories as others felt the need to. A special thank you to Greg Arkwright for speaking as a resident of Fenelon Falls on behalf of KATVA.
The biggest and most heartfelt moment for us was when Isabella Lowell got up with her dad and spoke. She did so with tremendous confidence and grace. This beautiful and articulate young lady is 13 years old. She saved up her own money from working for her parents business and bought her first ATV last year. She took our youth safety training course right away and has been enjoying the trails with her dad ever since. This is the first time someone so young has done a deputation to any council to support the ATV trails in Ontario. This young lady and others like her are the future of our sport both in Kawartha Lakes and all of Ontario. Thank you to the Lowell family and Log Chateau Park for always supporting our riders.
Now the real work begins. As discussed in the council meeting, there will be a local committee formed on which we will be discussing ideas and implement plans to reduce the conflict on this section of trail. We acknowledge that we have a responsibility to the residents to listen to and address their complaints. While we don’t respect those who embellish complaints to get there way, we do know that we have further work to do to make sure the trail is safe and enjoyable for all users. We will be looking at implementing the following as well as other possible changes:
- Possible new bylaws such as a ban on after market exhausts and other noise control measures
- Increased enforcement on all trails, including this section
- The installation of additional gates and speed control measures
- Increased dust control applications
- Additional signage for the speed limits along the trails with speed enforcement
Speed and lack of enforcement were the two most common complaints and they will be our main focus this year.
As riders, you have a responsibility to police yourselves and your riding buddies and peers when on the trails. If you see a problem and can’t address it yourself, please report it to us. Some may not like to hear this but it’s the only option we have if we want to keep our trails open. This goes for all of our trails. It only takes one incident involving a pedestrian, cyclist, pet or other ATV/dirt bike and we could lose access to trails. Accidents happen but responsible riding will reduce the chances of it happening.
Respect the other trail users and take the high road if you encounter a “Karen” on the trails. Do not get confrontational, just be polite and move on. If the situation warrants it, take photos or video and report the incident to us. This is especially important because as you can see by their deputations they like to create narratives about being threatened by ATV riders and feeling unsafe. I truly believe these were just embellishments as there were children involved in each story and I want to believe that no one would cross that line in front of a child. It’s a commonly used narrative against us. Regardless just avoid the situation all together or if need be report it to us so that if someone contacts us about it we will have all the facts.
I know this is a lot of information and some won’t be receptive to it but we have a responsibility as trail stewards.
Again, thank you for everyone who take the time to reach out and help us be successful at council this week. I want to thank the Fenelon Falls Chamber of Commerce, The Somerville Forest Tract Committee and the Kawartha Lakes Snowmobile Club for stepping up and having our backs.
A special thanks to the councilors and staff who supported us when making their decisions. The majority of this council is new and what impressed us was the time that many of the new councillors took to do their own research into the issue. Councillor Perry’s speech was one of the best I’ve ever heard in this type of situation.
We look forward to working with this new council in future.
Carolyn Richards,
KATVA President