Popular Glen Valley, P.E.I. dirt bike track forced to close
Natalia Goodwin | CBC News | Posted: June 25, 2016 9:15 AM | Last Updated: June 25, 2016
Insurance company says liability of dirt bike track too risky
A dirt bike track created for teen riders in rural P.E.I. is going to be shut down after only a few weeks of being open.
Jerry MacLean began building the track in Glen Valley a few weeks ago for some boys who had asked him for a place to ride.
Parents signed consent forms, and the track had barely opened before MacLean hit a road block.
He was told this insurance company, PEI Mutual, couldn't offer him a policy for the route. He said they told him if he went with another company, his house insurance would have to be cancelled.
MacLean has been with the insurance company for decades and didn't think switching would be a good idea.
"You just don't know your premiums could go up... so I just had to say it's just too bad and made up no trespassing signs today and they're going up tomorrow morning," MacLean said
"It was a miserable decision to make but it wasn't hard because I really didn't have a decision to make. I either had to do what I did or I was in trouble or could have been in trouble."
Now, he has to break the news to the boys who helped him build the track – not an easy task.
He said he is still getting calls every day from parents who want to bring their kids to ride. He knows what working on the track has given him and the community.
"I was self serving in the whole thing because I was enjoying myself as much as the boys were."