Off-Road Vehicles allowed on all Township roads, with some exceptions
Lake of Bays Township Council has approved a new by-law to allow off-road vehicles (ORV’s) on all but 22 township roads. The roads that were granted exception are listed on Schedule A of the ORV By-law to Regulate the Use of ORV’s on Municipal Roads. The roads to be excluded from the by-law were determined based on more than 500 emails and letters submitted by residents. In most cases, where over 50% of the residents on a road requested that ORV/ATV’s be prohibited, the road was granted exclusion from the by-law. There was concern expressed by some councilors that not all residents were aware that 50% consensus was required for exclusion to be granted. It was noted that residents may request ORV’s be prohibited from their road at any time if they have the support of 50% or more of the residents on that road. Off-road vehicles are permitted from May 1st until December 31st, sunrise to sunset, on the shoulder (or move to the right hand side of the travelled portion of the road if the shoulder is impassible or unsafe). Hunters that are lawfully hunting may operate off-road vehicles between sunset and sunrise only from September 1st until November 30th. The speed limit for off-road vehicles is 20 km per hour for roads where the speed limit is 50 km per hour or less and 50 km per hour for roads where the speed limit is greater than 50 km per hour. The Township will be requesting the District of Muskoka to pass a complimentary by-law to regulate the use of off-road vehicles on District Roads in the Township of Lake of Bays. Off-road vehicles are governed by the MTO Highway Traffic Act, meaning that drivers must be fully licensed and insured.
