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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Ban of offroading inside city limits nears
THE long and bumpy road toward an offroad-vehicle ban in Winnipeg appears to be clear of all debris, as the city is poised to prohibit snowmobiles and ATVs from roaming around inside its limits later this year.
City council's executive policy committee voted unanimously Wednesday to approve an offroad-vehicle ban that would take effect Nov. 1.
Also at EPC:
Other decisions made Wednesday:
Speed limits in school zones: Executive policy committee voted unanimously to give Mayor Sam Katz a green light to pen a letter to the Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton to request a reduction in speed limits around schools in Winnipeg. The province rejected a previous letter, sent to transportation officials, not politicians.
Wildewood condos: In a rare decision, EPC declined to approve or deny a proposal for a 65-unit residential development in Fort Garry and simply move the proposal to council on Feb. 22 instead. Previously, council's city centre committee denied the application, but the property and development committee was deadlocked in a 2-2 vote.
-- Kives
The vote effectively reverses a January decision by council's protection and community services committee, which wanted to delay the ban until 2014. At the time, committee chairwoman Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood) argued for more time to develop a plan for snowmobile riders to access trails just outside the city.
Since then, Havixbeck said city staff promised to present council with a trail-access plan by September and implement this plan by the time snow begins to fall.
Havixbeck said this will ensure thousands of snowmobile riders who live in rural areas of Winnipeg will not be sidelined next fall.
"We are trying to balance the whole urban-rural sort of thing," she said following the EPC vote.
Right now, snowmobiles and ATVs are free to roam only in selected areas of Winnipeg, most of which are located at the fringes. The January 2011 death of 51-year-old Ken Stammers following a collision with a snowmobile in Transcona -- outside one of those areas -- led Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt to call for an offroad-vehicle ban.
The Winnipeg Police Service then authored a report supporting such a ban, primarily on the grounds ATVs and snowmobiles present a safety hazard in urban areas.
Wyatt lauded the work of the police and their readiness to enforce a ban.
"The fact of the matter is, we live in a city. This is not Plum Coulee," he said, adding he was pleased to reach a compromise with Havixbeck. "When you have time to reflect on the issue and look at the actual facts, the work the police did spoke for itself."
The plan expected in September will outline trails and other options for snowmobile riders to get their vehicles from their homes to urban areas, Havixbeck said.
The ban is still needs council approval next week but is expected to pass easily. Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz, an early supporter of the ban, said he is pleased to see council come to a tentative agreement.
"The reason it took a little longer than it probably could have is some citizens who are avid snowmobilers raised some concerns and we listened," Katz said.
Not all will be pleased with the compromise, as St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes failed to convince EPC to exempt areas of the city outside the Perimeter Highway from the ban.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 16, 2012 B1
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