Elkford BC new ATV bylaw

[Maxter]

It won't surprise me if we start to see more and more of these extra fees imposed on atv'ers. Perhaps our TS member Gadzuk who is from Elkford B.C. could provide some insight for us.

Article attached below. click once to enlarge, if it is not easily readable click on it again to enlarge one more time and you should have no problem being able to read it

[quadnostart]

Wonder if they realize the tourist dollars they are risking, doesn't make sense to me :nono:

[vinnie]

yepers wont be long itll be out here soon

[Grtwhthntr]

The first sign says "within the town limits", we aren't even allowed in any towns so for $10 and $2 a year thereafter bring it on, I would buy it in a second!!!!

[The Chef]

Hntr is right but how long will it stay at $2. Great Idea

[jeepster]

like gwh said 10 bucks is nothing . my question is why cant they ticket the guys with BC licences? why do they need a local licence?

[Maxter]

OK so $10 isn't so bad you say. Well lets see, if this became common practice and you went to ride the crowsnest pass and lets say you spent some time camping. You could easily end up paying at Coleman, Elkford, Blairmore, Bellevue. The towns may not all be correct, but you get my point. You couldn't go into town from the trails otherwise it would actually cost you $40... $10 for each town mentioned.
Like jeepster says, why can't they refer to the plates already on the quads? Unless like Sask. B.C. doesn't require you to tag your quads. But then why require out of province quads with tags to register as well?

[jeepster]

This doesn't make sense. why have a local licence? Unless BC doesn't ask you to licence your quad.

[Slipperypete]

Doesn't this sound like our local snopass. I know the trans canada trail runs through my hometown,and if caught sledding on there without a snopass you get fined.

[gadzuk]

The reason for the local registration is twofold:
1. There are no ATV license plates in BC, we need some way to identify machines hence the Elkford registration sticker.
2. When they finally come out with ATV license plates in 2008 or 2009, we'll want some way to permit responsible riders while keeping abusers off the trail system.

At present Elkford is one of only two towns in the province of BC that allows ATV and snowmobiles IN TOWN. The current bylaw technically prohibits use, but it's intentionally not enforced. Riders are supposed to take the quickest route out of town to the trails.

But our local kids are using the in-town trails to ride around on their 80cc two-stroke bikes and there's a growing number of residents who want in-town riding eliminated all together. Imagine having a bbq in the back yard with family and friends, and this constant buzzing of machines.

This bylaw has been developed in conjunction with the local ATV and snowmobile clubs and has their full support. It's a positive thing.

Note that out of town riders from AB and MB already have plates. Riders from BC and SK do not have plates.

What issuing a sticker to AB riders does is ensures that they're familiar with the Elkford bylaw. We had a snowmobile group here with 45 sleds. They staged in town at the gas station and rode out to the trails. No problem at all. After the ride they took their snowmachines to the bar, now that's a problem for a lot of reasons. In their defense, they didn't realize what they were doing was contrary to our bylaw.

Hope that helps.

Peter