General News

Mono revisits ATV use on municipal roads

April 9, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Mono’s mayor has raised the issue of off-road vehicle use on municipal roads.

Mono council previously decided to prohibit all-terrain vehicles and other similar conveyances from driving on municipal roads. But such a prohibition cannot practically be enforced by the town’s bylaw enforcement officers as they are not allowed to stop moving vehicles.

The OPP enforces the Highway Traffic Act, which ensures the safe operation of motor vehicles, including ATVs. And some neighbouring rural municipalities permit ATVs on their roadways without major issues.

The legislation mandates that ATV riders wear helmets and that insurance be required.

Mayor John Creelman proposed that a bylaw be drafted and presented to council permitting ATV operation on Mono roads.

“In supporting this motion you’re not making a final determination,” he said.

Creelman gave notice of the motion during a council meeting in March. He said he’s spoken with a number of Dufferin County mayors about off-road vehicle use within municipalities, and they voiced no complaints.

“It doesn’t approve them (off-road vehicles),” Creelman said. “It simply asks that a bylaw be drafted and presented to council permitting ATV operation on Mono roads.”

Creelman said he and former mayor, the late Laura Ryan, wondered whether there should be an allowance or “cutout” for farmers riding from one property to another.

“That never really got addressed,” he said. “We simply decided we weren’t going to allow it.”

Councillor Elaine Capes questioned the necessity of such a bylaw when the town has so many more pressing priorities.

“Why now?” she asked.

“The weather is getting better and a number of people have asked me if I would sponsor such a motion,” Creelman said.

Capes asked town staff to give the ATV bylaw a low priority on the list of council’s unfinished business.

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