I am extremely concerned with the Trails Only Yukon Association’s aggressive push for regulation, noted in the May 23 issue of the Yukon News.
Over the last couple of years, I have lost the use of the trails around Whitehorse. Many of these were opened, and maintained for years, by my friends and family for the enjoyment of everyone. During the public consultation to restrict motorized vehicles in the city, many riders backed off knowing that we were still free to enjoy the outdoors further from urban areas.
What boggles my mind is how activist groups like TOYA come to believe that regulations actually solve a public usage issue such as ATVs in city limits, or in the bush.
The licensing and restrictions on ATV usage in the city has done nothing to control the ATV riders who do not care about other users; it only punishes respectful, law abiding riders. This could be overcome with brute enforcement, but this process is extremely expensive even within the limited size of Whitehorse, and likely impossible to achieve.
Are we really going to try to enforce some sort of regulation throughout the Yukon? How are we going to do that? Tires that leave the registration number imprinted in the dirt? That’s not a bad idea; I have several people that I want to frame.
Who will pay for it? I’m not willing, and those billion-dollar transfer payments from Ottawa won’t last forever.
I see a group of activists who have taken their inch, and now want the mile. They will have to fight extremely hard to get what they want this time.
Dyson Hale
Whitehorse