Work on a new bylaw could put off-road vehicles on road in Sicamous.
District staff presented a draft bylaw and map that would allow off-road vehicles such as quads and side-by-sides to access area hills right from town rather than having to trailer them to designated starting points. Work on this came about after local hotels approached council about allowing their guests easier access to recreation in the area, which staff agreed would benefit the community as a whole.
“It’s a game changer; I’ve seen it in other communities and it brings a lot of business to town,” public works manager Dale Reid commented, adding that on his end, the bylaw looks doable.
At this stage of the proposal, staff is focusing on the trail system that basically encompasses the entire town to access three destination points on Solsqua-Sicamous Road, Owl Head and Two Mile. That extensive route raised some concerns as it passes through residential areas, which Coun. Janna Simons worried will leave the district open to liabilities, despite town manager Evan Parliament stating all quads taken on-road will have to have proper lighting and be plated and insured.
“If somebody’s kid gets hit by one of these, yeah, I know they’re going to have insurance, but we will be sued,” she stated.
In drafting the bylaw, however, staff assured that they are working closely with the RCMP and the district lawyer to ensure that all bases are covered.
“There is risk in anything that we try to do to bring people to our community, and we have to find that balance,” Parliament said.
While the proposed bylaw is in very preliminary stages, council assured that there would be an open house for public input should it move forward, with a lot of fine-tuning still to do before adoption.
“I think if we’re going to do this, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” Mayor Terry Rysz said.
The full bylaw and trail map can be found online at www.sicamous.ca under the March 8 committee of the whole agenda.