Province's ATV trail network reaches 99 km with new road access in western P.E.I.
CBC
The province has added 12 kilometres of designated trails for all-terrain vehicles in western Prince Edward Island that will connect existing routes in O’Leary and Tignish.
The expansion is part of the provincial government's pilot project, in collaboration with the P.E.I. ATV Federation and various clubs, to designate sections of dirt roads across the Island for ATV and side-by-side use.
The addition brings the total amount of legally recognized trails in the province to 99 km.
O’Leary’s ATV club manages roughly 60 km of trails, including the new 12 km.
Tyler Hardy, the club's president, said he’s happy riders will be able to explore more of the community.
"They just want to be able to explore more, and... there’s a lot of roads out there that we can be driving on," Hardy said.
There are hundreds of kilometres of ATV trails around P.E.I., but piecing them all together into a provincewide network — which is the eventual goal of the pilot project — can be tricky.
The province requires that the pilot trails be on dirt roads, with low traffic volume and no potential environmental concerns. The ATV federation also has to work with landowners in those areas to ensure riders can get on and off the roads without issue.
In order to use the pilot roads — which are shared with other cars, trucks and farm equipment — ATV drivers have to pay an annual $50 registration fee, while being subject to the same rules and regulations as any other road user.
The federation will use a portion of the fees to help build and maintain its eventual Island-wide network.
Brendon Arsenault, vice-president of the O'Leary club, said the goal is to secure even more roads for ATV users in the area.
"It connects communities together where before it was pretty limited to be able to get from one community to the other without using a dirt road section," he said.
The new trails have already been added to a map on the P.E.I. ATV Federation’s website.
Ernie Hudson, the province's transportation and infrastructure minister, said the addition of more pilot roads will mean a boost for tourism.
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