Councillor pushes for defined public engagement process on ATVs

Councillor Thom Paterson is once again pushing for public consultation on ATVs, saying it would help with what has developed into a “de facto ward-by-ward shouting match.”
At the Sept. 14 Clearview Township council meeting, he said the public wants to know their input is being received and is being used to inform the decision.
Paterson said he doesn’t want to delay the staff report on options for increasing off-road vehicle access to roads and trails, expected on Sept. 28, but says there is more work to be done in terms of public consultation before anything can be approved. Paterson’s motion calling for a defined public engagement process, including dates, was deferred until council had a chance to review the staff report on ATV access, but he was assured that his directives would be considered at that time. Paterson is also asking council to complete an assessment of each of the justifications provided in the ATV and SxS motion approved on July 27; a report including the outcomes from the Comprehensive Traffic Management Study; and consideration for a phased-in, ward-by-ward implementation plan.
The issue of ATVs dominated Monday’s five-hour meeting, including a 25-minute debate on whether Paterson’s motion should even be allowed on the agenda. The possibility for public consultation was back on the table after Paterson’s August 10 motion to conduct a survey to gauge public opinion on the issue was defeated.
This time around, Paterson asked that councillors be open to hearing from people on all sides of the issue, including the business community.
“That’s why I’m thinking that we have to pay more attention to the public engagement process, including a public meeting…,” said Paterson. “So that the public can see that we are actually trying to engage them, and make the right decision for this community, not just a portion of the community…”
“People don’t feel engaged in the process. They are writing stuff and it’s going into a digital black hole. They’re hearing us talk back and forth on it and they don’t see their place in it… when we said no to the survey they took it upon themselves to do the survey, and petition, to form ad hoc groups, and make representations. Then you hear the frustration that’s coming out from all these good people in the form of some name-calling, shouting and sarcasm. They’re trying to get our attention.”
Council members said they have received an unprecedented amount of correspondence on the topic but Paterson’s concern is that it is not being compiled in a comprehensive manner.
Council members said they are listening, and hinted that much of the correspondence has been less than cordial.
“I am disgusted with parties on both sides,” said Councillor Robert Walker of the bantering and name-calling. “For adults to act like that, it’s disgusting.”
It made him question if a public meeting is a good idea.
Mayor Doug Measures questioned how they could have a public meeting, given the limitations for public gatherings during the pandemic. Staff said if it were to happen, it would be different than in the past when hordes of people would fill council chambers.
The conversation didn’t stray too far into the underlying issue of ATV access, but Walker did say that he looks forward to seeing the report, assuming that council would then debate the issue, possibly laying out exceptions for certain roads and times.
“I know there are a lot of people that think we should do this right away and there are a lot of people that think we shouldn’t. I, as a councillor, just want to make sure we do it right,” said Walker. “We do it once and we do it right so if we need to take a little more time to do it, then we do but I’m wondering if some of these need to wait until we get the report on the 28th before we bring them up and define them a little further.”
Measures said council has to use its best judgment on how to move this forward.
“We have a lot of very responsible operators of these machines who are getting tickets for no reason other than they are riding on a road where the municipality has a bylaw prohibiting it,” he said. “I support those people.”
The staff report outlining ways off-road vehicles could have increased access to township roads is coming to the table on Sept. 28. Staff has been consulting with agencies and neighbouring municipalities to explore options to open access on township owned roads only, and not those owned by the county or the province.