It’s a sure sign of spring in Timmins every year: complaints to police about all-terrain vehicles being used on streets and private property.
Aside from the worries about public safety, city police communications coordinator Marc Depatie points out that the Highway Traffic and Off-road Vehicles Act come into play.
“There’s, I know, a movement to allow for ATVs to be used on city streets,” he says, “but no such allowance has been granted by municipal council to date.”
The problem stretches from one end of the city to the other.
- Mountjoy Twp. –Chenier Ave. and Bonaventure St.
- Pine St. S. area
- South Porcupine and Porcupine: Connaught Hill area, Ferguson Rd., Crawford St., Nadine Ave., Sony St., Julie St. and the tract of land between Northern College and the Finnish Seniors Residence near Huot St. adjacent to Porcupine Lake.
-Source: Timmins Police Service
Depatie says any operator caught violating the regulations can face a hefty fine. “Trespass to property violations typically run to somewhere between a hundred (dollars) and two-fifty. But Highway Traffic Act and no insurance charges can be very significant.”
Operating a vehicle without insurance carries a minimum fine of $5,000.