BOYLE – Village of Boyle councillors are doubling down on new signage in an effort to educate off-highway-vehicle users following complaints of near misses in the community.
At their Aug. 2 meeting, councillors voted 5-0 to erect new signage that will clearly spell out that off-highway vehicles (OHVs) aren’t welcome in certain parts of the community after Coun. Patrick Ferguson asked that Bylaw 01-97 Off Highway Vehicles be reviewed that night following safety concerns voiced by community members. The decision comes on the heels of a July 19 council vote that saw the village place two new stop signs near the school to curb reports of reckless driving in the area.
“I don’t know if a change to the bylaw is necessary at this point, I think it’s a matter of enforcement,” said Village of Boyle CAO Warren Griffin. “The signage is a ramp up of the public communication, so at least we’re doing our best to say, ‘Be responsible.’”
Bylaw 01-97 currently prohibits the use of OHVs between Second Street to Sixth Street inclusive and First Avenue and avenues contained in the area, as well as Hospital Avenue and around the hospital. However, the bylaw does permit OHV use on streets, alleys, or lanes at or below a speed of 25 km/h and stipulates riders take the most-direct route to their destination.
The bylaw also allows riders to use village property for recreational driving on the condition they’ve received written permission from either the Village of Boyle or the Boyle RCMP, but Griffin said such permission will not be granted.
Signs will soon be installed on the village property behind the Boyle Fitness Centre and Boyle School, which Smith says is a popular route to privately-owned land commonly used by riders.
Coun. Barb Smith said via e-mail that although complaints have been received, “any occurrences I have heard about have had positive improvement once they were given proper information on the OHV use in village limits.”
