Alfred-Plantagenet Township council wasted almost no time in agreeing to a request from the ATV Club of Eastern Ontario in revising a local bylaw to help create a convenient and accessible link to the regional ATV trail network.
ATVCEO spokesman Butch Thompson presented council with the club’s request for a revision to Bylaw 2023-24, which designates accepted municipal road routes through the township for ATV riders provided they meet provincial regulations for vehicle safety and driving. The club wanted one change to the bylaw to make it easier for ATV travel during the winter when snow conditions allow.
« The amendments are to provide alternate routes for the existing Concession 8 trail (route), » said Thompson, « which does not have winter maintenance and thus cuts off access in both easterly and westerly directions beyond the Peat Moss Road/Concession 8 junction. »
The club proposed two alternate routes via Ritchance Road and Concession 7 that will allow ATV riders easy access to the new trail network connections at Caledonia Springs Road and the intersection of County Road 20 and Concession 1 in Alfred. Champlain Township and the United Counties of Prescott-Russell councils have aproved these sites as part of the regional ATV network.
« Both Ritchance Road and Concession 7 are maintained in the winter, » Thompson said, adding that the alternate routes will also allow ATV riders a convenient stop in Alfred for gasoline and food.
Alfred-Plantagenet council members expressed support for the proposal and approved the revision to Bylaw 2023-24.