Mike Owczarek doesn’t think he will just ride off into the sunset.
The Bracebridge area resident and all-terrain vehicle enthusiast said he and others are considering continuing their efforts to convince town officials to expand the ATV boundaries in the municipality.
“They’ll let us go in to pay taxes on our ATVs, but we can’t get gas or anything other,” he said. “The fact is the (Ministry of Transportation) actually owns the bridge on Taylor Road which crosses Highway 11, and they do not allow off-road vehicles to cross their bridges. The mayor and town council made no effort to lobby MTO in order to amend this restriction.”
The town was contacted in early 2023 by area residents — including Owczarek — about expanding the municipal boundaries so they can move more freely with their ATVs.
The group asked officials to consider a boundary, which would include Taylor Road (Muskoka Road 42) to the north, Highway 11 to the east, Hugh Campbell Drive and Birch Lane to the south, and Cedar Lane (Muskoka Road 14/37 and town section) to the west, to allow riders easier access to commercial areas.
“We just want to get to the gas station, you know, Walmart, Home Depot, other things. So we just want to get to Cedar Lane,” Owczarek said.
At the July 4, 2023, general committee meeting, councillors were presented with a report for information purposes from public works staff regarding the feasibility of expanding the area where off-road vehicles are permitted on municipal roads.
In that report, the District of Muskoka indicated accommodating off-road vehicles on urban and semi-rural district roads “was discouraged during initial bylaw development,” adding there were … “safety concerns from introducing another type of vehicle on the urban road network” and any progressing of this proposal may require a feasibility study.
The MTO stated it was unable to support the proposal “ … as the operation of an (off-road vehicle) on the Highway 11 overpasses on Taylor Road (Muskoka Road 42) and Fraserburg Road (Muskoka Road 14) is in contravention of the Highway Traffic Act.”
The Bracebridge Ontario Provincial Police had no concerns regarding the proposed expansion, according to the report.
After reading the report, councillors agreed to include the proposal for consideration for the 2024 municipal business plan.
However, Mayor Rick Maloney said councillors did review the request last year and it was council’s decision not to move forward with consideration of expanding the area.
“I will say that our ATV bylaw allows (riders) to use their ATVs all across the municipality, with the exception of the urban core, and at the time, (council) was concerned obviously about the impacts that adding another layer of, modes of transportation in an already busy area would cause,” he said.
Owczarek, who said he presented a petition to the town of about 255 names regarding the boundary increase, mentioned many of the names are people from multi-generational families who helped found Bracebridge.
- Article was updated
“I believe that mayor and councillors did not even review the signatures on petition because if they had, they would have realized that many who have signed are fourth and fifth generation residents of Bracebridge,” he said.
“These are the very families who help build and develop the town of Bracebridge to the way it is today, and yet the mayor and councillors were unwilling to go to bat to help them in return,” he said.
Owczarek said he and others have talked about making the ATV boundary issue a talking point during the 2026 municipal election.
“It’s a possibility. I will have to talk to a few people about it,” he said.
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