Whitehorse rejects proposed snowmobile street ban

Whitehorse won't be banning snowmobiles from city streets.

A proposed snowmobile bylaw called for the ban, but council members say that would be unreasonable.

They decided Monday night that snowmobile users should be able to drive their machines from their homes to the backcountry. However, they added it may be necessary to ban snowmobiles from some specific streets.

The council will move ahead with other proposals related to snowmobile use. The machines will be restricted to designated trails with substantial penalties for violators and speed limits will be set. Drivers will also have to take a snowmobile safety course. 

Both bylaw manager Dave Pruden and Mayor Bev Buckway last month conceded the street ban proposal was controversial.

Pruden said it would be difficult to enforce the new rules, since too many Yukoners already ignore existing territorial rules regarding snowmobile licensing, registration, and insurance.

Counc. Betty Irwin said she, too, thought such a bylaw would draw opposition from people who would have to furnish a trailer in order to get their machines to the trails from home.

Operating snowmobiles on city streets has been legal under current regulations, first passed in 1972.