Lighthouse Cove business owners and residents are urging Lakeshore Council to allow ATVs on area roads through the winter months.

There is a petition circulating with 360 names on it asking council to amend the bylaw to allow ATV use from November through March to make it easier for those ice fishing to get to the lake.

“When the poker runs are running from Belle River to Mitchell’s Bay they’ll bypass Lighthouse Cove and go to Mitchell’s Bay, they want to go to their restaurants and that community, because right now ATVs have to stay out on the lake and we’re not seeing any of that business,” says convenience store and gas bar owner Bill Stewart. “Chatham-Kent has done it already. They did a pilot project in 2007 and it worked out very well for them, it has moved to all their lakefront communities.”

Right now, anyone seen on an ATV on roadways in Lighthouse Cove is issued a fine. Snowmobiles are allowed to travel from a home or business and onto the lake without any restrictions. Council is having municipal staff take a look at the request. The issue will come back before council at a later date.