OrilliaMatters received the following letter from Elizabeth Dunn about the Township of Oro-Medonte's decision to allow off-road vehicles on many township roads.
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I am writing in regards to the bylaw recently approved by Oro-Medonte council to allow temporary expansion of Off Road Vehicles (ORVs) on most of the roads in the township, most of the year. The bylaw came into effect August 7, 2018 and is for one year on a trial basis.
I live in Ward 1 where the bylaw has not allowed the ORV usage.
In my 21 years on this road we have seen one or two of these vehicles occasionally riding here, but not frequently. On August 17, 10 days after the new bylaw began, a group of three ORVs passed in front of my house, followed about an hour later by a group of at least seven.
I find it difficult to believe that this is a coincidence and think that these riders were either not aware of the boundaries where they are allowed or chose to ignore the rules.
My questions are: What measurement is Oro-Medonte using to decide on whether the bylaw expansion is working or not during the trial period and at its conclusion? ie. the number of violations reported?
Who should the violations be reported to? The OPP?
To my knowledge no contact information (name, phone number, etc) has been provided to the public to report offenders to the road wardens or to the ORV Club representative. The ORV representative at the council meeting and Mayor Hughes said that enforcement would be in place as part of their justification for approving the bylaw.
In short, what is in place to monitor this trial and what will the evaluation process look like?
Elizabeth Dunn
Oro-Medonte
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