The police chief in Chatham-Kent says he is OK with the municipality's new off road vehicle (ORV) bylaw.
The bylaw bans off road vehicles in Chatham but allows them in smaller urban centres including Blenheim, Dresden, Ridgetown, Wheatley, Tilbury and Wallaceburg. However, Murray St, McNaughton Ave., and Dufferin Ave. in Wallaceburg will remain restricted to ORVs.
Chief Gary Conn says the bylaw is a reasonable compromise but still poses challenges for his officers. He says he's pleased ORVs are banned from Chatham, but feels allowing them in smaller urban areas is going to be a problem.
"We will see a higher likelihood of collisions involving other motorists and pedestrians in urban settings," he says.
The new of road vehicle bylaw has no expiry date.
The chief tells BlackburnNews.com that he'll be keeping a close eye on the issue and may need to buy new equipment to properly enforce the bylaw.
"I will be going to the board and requesting that we have the proper equipment to do just that, which would entail an ATV, we don't have one of those right now, and getting some of our officers trained up," says Conn.