ATHABASCA – It has been nearly a year in the making, but the Town of Athabasca council has now passed first reading of its first bylaw of 2023 — the Off-Highway Vehicle Bylaw — which will give snowmobiles designated routes to access amenities within, and to get through, town.
At the Jan. 10 meeting, first reading of Bylaw 001-2023 was passed, which opens the potential legislation up for discussion by council and the public and may still undergo many revisions before it becomes official.
The bylaw has been in the works since April 2022, when members of Athabasca River Runners Snowmobile Club approached council to voice the idea of introducing a way for snowmobile enthusiasts to enter the town limits to eat and shop and fuel up without being issued a fine, noting snowmobiling is a huge industry with a lot of potential that could bring plenty of outsiders to town during the winter months.
The motion coming out of that meeting was for administration to work with the snowmobile club to generate a new route map and bring it back to council for approval, and now they’ve had their first look.
In her request for decision, CAO Rachel Ramey noted, “Administration has met with them to discuss their wishes. Research on other municipalities with similar rules and regulations as well as with town stakeholders has taken place. The attached bylaw and map should cover the needs of the group and allow our Town to be a snowmobile friendly municipality.”
As it stands, the map included with the bylaw shows a route running east to west following Highway 55 before cutting behind A&W and across Wood Heights Road, through the utility corridor behind McEwan’s, and down the hill into the riverfront area, where they can stop just north of the Tawatinaw River confluence or continue west to the River Runners clubhouse on the very western edge of town.
Routes down Tower Road, at Boston Pizza, Petro Canada and Canadian Tire would also be legal on the east side. Back alleys between 49th St. and 50th St. and 50th St. and 51st St. would also be available to head south out of town to the fire hall and points south.
There are three regulations listed in the bylaw with the first noting off-highway vehicles are not permitted within town limits. The second notes that snow vehicles are permitted, provided they adhere to six caveats: “Snow vehicles are to be operated on the designated route, as attached to and forming a part of this bylaw as Schedule “A”; Transporting the vehicle to and from the designated route shall be done by the shortest and most direct route; the designated route shall only be used during the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.; no person operating a snow vehicle shall exceed a speed of 30 kilometers per hour within the limits of the Town; all rules and regulations as prescribed in the Traffic Safety Act must be adhered to at all times; and operators of snow vehicles use the designated route within the Town limits at their own risk.”
The third states, “Any person who contravenes this Bylaw, in any part, shall be subject to a fine of $150.00 for the first offence and $200.00 for the second or subsequent offence. Fines under the Traffic Safety Act are also in effect.
Coun. Dave Pacholok did want to clarify that the snowmobile club was content with the current map before voting, to which Ramey responded “Yes”.
