ATV/ORV Current Timeline

July 18, 2018

The draft by-law that was directed by Council on April 25, 2018 was brought to Council for their review at the meeting of July 18, 2018.​ Council amended​​ the by-law to reflect expanded permission for ATV & ORV use on select Township Roads for a one year trail period effective August 7, 2018. See ATV ORV main page for more information.

April 25, 2018

​​During the Council Meeting of April 25, 2018, Council heard three (3) deputations and comments from multiple individuals during Open Forum regarding the use of ATV/ORVs on municipal roadways. Additionally, over fifty (50) pieces of correspondence were received, which had been submitted by interested members of the public since the April 11, 2018 Council Meeting.

After hearing comments, reviewing submitted correspondence, and discussing the report presented by the ATV/ORV Taskforce Council continues to weigh the options of opening all roadways within the Township of Oro-Medonte's legal jurisdiction, this would exclude county, provincial and boundary roadways; along with the option of only permitting roadway access to as established trail network, which has yet to be established.

At the conclusion of the debate, Council directed staff to bring back a draft by-law that would explore the option of allowing ATV/ORVs to access all municipal roadways within Wards 2, 4 and 5; and to allow for ATV/ORV access to roadways which only allow for the connection to trail networks within Wards 1 and 3.

The proposed draft by-law will require significant analysis and legal review prior to being presented to Council at a future meeting date, which has yet to be determined.

April 11, 2018

At its meeting of April 11, 2018 Council endorsed the guiding principles and requested that the information regarding the draft by-laws (one [1] for each option noted above) for consideration on April 25, 2018 be communicated through the Township's website under the Public Notices section, and through social media channels with a direct link to the Township webpage.

April 5, 2018

The Taskforce met on April 5, 2018 and developed guiding principles to structure the by-law. Further, the Taskforce recommended a draft by-law which would provide two (2) option identified in separate schedules:

1. Access on all Municipal Roads (with certain exceptions);
2. Access to certain road segments to establish regional trail network in addition to existing winter recreation permissions.​

March 28, 2018

At its meeting of March 28, 2018 Council received a presentation from the Highway Safety Division of the Ontario Provincial Policy (OPP) and a staff report (OCS 2018-11) in response to a request to open up roadways for ATV/ORVs.  The report outlined background on legislation, previous and current by-laws, and key considerations relating to the request.

Three options were presented to Council, notably:

1. Permit use on roadways;
2. Consider access to certain roadways to establish regional trail network;
3. Update existing Bylaw to reflect changes in legislation continuing with seasonal permissions to access Lake Simcoe from Hwy 11 south for winter recreation.

Each option outlined associated considerations and a recommended approach for Council's consideration.

Recognizing previous pilot programs and by-laws in other County of Simcoe municipalities, Council passed a motion to support, in principle, the use of ATV/ORVs on Township roadways on a one (1) year trial basis and established a taskforce consisting of two (2) Councillors, the Mayor as ex-officio and staff resources as required.  The Taskforce's mandate is to draft conditions and parameters regarding ATV/ORV use, to draft a by-law, and a communication plan which are to come back before Council on April 25, 2018.