Snowmobilers have been given the green light to access streets in some areas of the city.
The trial period is for the remainder of the 2018/19 season. It opens up access to OFSC permit holders on certain streets in Schumacher, Gold Centre, Porcupine, South Porcupine, Mountjoy and Connaught to get to trails, gas stations, restaurants, and other services. Access to the Hampton Inn is also included in the updated bylaw.
The Timmins Snowmobile Club first talked to the city about the phased-in plan a couple of years ago.
The second phase would open up roads in Timmins north and south.
While the Timmins Snowmobile Club's Patrick Dzijacky said the trial period is a good step forward for the city, he added it's now up to the snowmobilers to respect the rules.
"It’s definitely going to help for tourism, definitely going to help the local residents get to the trails,” he said.
“Now we need the snowmobilers to respect the rules, respect the laws, understand where they can and can’t go and this is going to lead to the success of this project. If they don’t support it, if they don’t help us out, then it’s going to be turned around in a couple years.”
There are conditions for the plan. They are:
- The driver must be at least 16 years old
- All operators have a valid license and insurance
- The speed limit for snowmobiles is 20 km an hour
- Access is only allowed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- That public consultations in areas affected by the trial period are held before the start of the next snowmobile season
At the last council meeting, clerk Steph Palmateer explained that the trial period will give the city invaluable feedback from residents and snowmobilers.
He acknowledged a permitting system is needed, explaining it could be a hybrid system where if someone doesn't have an OFSC permit and wants to access a lake, for example, for ice fishing, they would need to buy a city permit. He expects to have a permit system in place before the next snowmobile season opens.
Dzijacky is encouraging people to make positive and constructive comments.
"I know social media always gets a lot of really negative comments, people don’t want to try new things, but we want to put it out there that this is a trial period, we want to make it work for the city, make it in a form that everybody is happy with. If there’s adjustments that need to be made we’ll definitely look into them with the police and city council, so make sure that these comments come forward,” he said.
Not all of council is in favour of the trial period.
Ward 3 Coun. Joe Campbell voted against the item, saying residents in his area are opposed to it for safety reasons.
He said the snowbanks are really high, and the city has a letter from resident who's had an incident with a snowmachine.
“I think the tourism aspect of it from a local point of view is overrated. I think we’re creating safety hazards here with snowmobiles running up and down,” he said.
To stay up-to-date with the trial period and where riders can access the streets, Dzijacky said the club's Facebook page will be updated with the information.
