ATHABASCA - The question of whether ATVs are actually a problem in the Wandering River area due to an increased number of campers, and whether they are being legally operated, was put to RCMP by Athabasca County councillors last week, but the answer was … complicated.
A delegation visit by Athabasca RCMP Staff Sgt. Paul Gilligan and Boyle RCMP Cpl. Colin Folk to Athabasca County council’s Oct. 13 meeting gave councillors an opportunity to query the commanding officers of the two local detachments about complaints regarding ATVs in the area surrounding Wandering River where some residents and some campground owners have been at odds about the effects of expanding recreational sites.
The Boyle detachment is tasked with responding to calls from Wandering River, which is about 85 km away.
“As you both know, we have a number of private campgrounds in our area, are you guys getting lots of complaints of the people from those campgrounds with quads ripping up the roads or causing damage to farmers fields, are those types of complaints coming in?” asked Coun. Dwayne Rawson, himself a retired RCMP member.
“Ya, that seems to be a real nightmare,” Folk responded, adding he has been in conversation with a number of people in the area. “There are a lot of privately-owned campgrounds in a small area and it’s causing all kinds of havoc, but I have got lots of calls about it, and there are things in place that we’re trying to do up there, but meeting with people has been tough right now.”
He added he has been working with Coun. Travais Johnson on organizing a meeting with campground owners and other residents when it is permitted by COVID gathering regulations.
“If we didn’t allow the quads on our roads, would that help?” asked Coun. Dennis Willcott. “We do allow quads on our roads and it seems like that’s a big issue.”
Folk told Willcott that despite the bylaw that allows for the quads to be driven on county roads, the provincial Traffic Safety Act would supersede the municipal legislation.
“Your kind of giving people mixed messages by saying the province is saying you can’t drive a quad on the road, but the bylaw says you can. So it leaves us in a bad situation when we’re trying to enforce the provincial statute,” he said. “A provincial statute supersedes any bylaw.”
Coun. Penny Stewart, who represents the Wandering River division, asked for additional clarification on that, but reeve Larry Armfelt disagreed.
“I’m not so sure about that, but we’ve got to get that clarified,” he said.
Gilligan said his understanding was “the bylaw permitted operation as long as all the other aspects of the Off-road Vehicle Act were being followed — helmets, proper registration, insurance.”
“I think that’s correct,” said Armfelt. “I think the bylaw that (Gilligan) is referring to is on our books, but we need to get that clarified because we don’t want mixed messages between us and you guys.”
County manager Ryan Maier tried to clarify which legislation trumps the other, saying Folk was right that municipal bylaws don’t supersede provincial statutes, but he cited Sec. 120 (4)(b) of the Traffic Safety Act, which allows for the exception.
“That allows us to pass a bylaw to allow off-highway vehicles on a highway that’s under the direction and control and management of the municipality,” he said.
Folk said it’s not really at the point where bylaws need to be rewritten, but it may come to that. He pointed out that education could go a long way and once campground owners and residents are able to meet to discuss the situation further, it could alleviate itself.
“It has become an overwhelming issue for the people that live up there,” said Folk. “It’s not local people that are causing problems with off-highway vehicles, it’s the people from the outside that are coming to these campsites, so it’s a lot harder to try to get them to understand the point-of-view of the farmers in the area.”
Councillors are scheduled to meet for a strategic planning session Oct. 29, and the further development of campgrounds, ATVs and increased traffic on county roads in Wandering River, are all on the agenda.
Rawson suggested the answer to the ATV question had been resolved with the visit from the officers, but Stewart disagreed.
“I guess we can agree to disagree on this Dwayne because I don’t think our ATV issue has gone away. I don’t think education is going to solve any of it. Time will tell, but we still have an issue with ATVs out there and I think it needs to be discussed,” she said.
