Sudbury City Council approves citywide snowmobile bylaw

City council has approved Greater Sudbury's first citywide bylaw to regulate the operation of snowmobiles.

The intent of the bylaw is to harmonize the different rules and regulations across former municipalities, some of which did not change after the city's 2001 amalgamation.

Councillor Mike Jakubo said the bylaw should help reduce confusion for both enforcement officers and the public.

"Prior to this bylaw being amended, there were a number of different bylaws in place across the greater city that had differing rules," Jakubo said, "so for example, you could ride a snowmobile on the sidewalk in Capreol, but you couldn't ride in the Valley."

And trails that were previously inaccessible will now be part of the city's larger trail plan.

"There are trail networks to the north of all the inhabited areas of New Sudbury north of Lasalle that people want to access," Jakubo said, "in the past, there was no way for them to safely get there."

This led to some snowmobiles making their way across roadways, which in turn raised the ire of some residents. 

"You can see in a number of areas where snowmobilers were treating sidewalks, which the city plows, as groomed trails," Jakubo said, "that's where this all originated."

Once the city consulted with residents and councillors, they were able to formulate a plan with the trail executive. 

"[It allowed us] to make sure their members can still enjoy a very popular pastime in northern Ontario," Jakubo said. 

Greater Sudbury Police and Provincial Police will enforce the bylaw.

An alphabetical listing of roads designated for snowmobile travel under bylaw 2016-230 is available at www.greatersudbury.ca/snowmobile and at citizen service centres in Capreol, Chelmsford, Dowling, Garson, Lively, Hanmer and Sudbury.