Mike Baird / CC
The Fort Frances Police Services Board is reviewing rules around all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).
The board’s reacting to a request from a local resident who would like to see them permitted on town streets.
OPP Detachment Commander Inspector Nathan Schmidt says police have only handled a few complaints about their use in recent years.
“We have no evidence to say that ATVs are a problem in Fort Frances. All we could find is seven incidents and since 2015,” says Schmidt.
The board is now reviewing laws in place in Kenora and Sioux Lookout that do permit ATVs on their streets before making a final recommendation.
Schmidt was working in Sioux Lookout when that municipality implemented its ATV by-law. He says there were no issues after it went into place and sees no issues in Fort Frances if a similar one is enacted here.
“Because there are so many rules already in place. You have to be 16, you have to have a driver’s license, you have to have insurance – those are all rules of the road that we will force now.”
A number of other northwestern Ontario communities also allow ATVs on their streets including Atikokan and Manitouwadge. Dryden does not.
