ATVers rev up hopes of taking back CBS railbed

By Craig Westcott, The Shoreline

A public hearing last week on a proposed ATV bypass in the back country of CBS almost turned into a rally to take back the old railbed in town from walkers and allow trikes and side-by-sides on it again.
The idea was touted several times to wide applause during an hour and 20-minute session that saw some 150 people, mostly ATV enthusiasts in attendance.
However, that notion contrasted sharply with the tenor of most of the written submissions from CBS residents who appear to be growing increasingly frustrated by the prevalence of dirt bikes and ATVs on their roads.
The hearing was supposed to focus solely on proposed amendments to the development rules to allow ATVs on a future bypass route on the south side of Peacekeepers Way. Commissioner George Trainor has 30 days to report on the hearing to council, which will then vote to accept, amend or reject his recommendations, before sending the proposed changes back to the Province for its approval.
While a sizeable minority of people at the hearing shared worries about increased ATV use interfering with walking trails, they were overwhelmingly outnumbered by the ATV supporters whose demands seemed to increase the longer the hearing went on.
Fred Rose, who moved to CBS about two and half years ago, seemed to speak for many of the ATV advocates, though he was not in favour of taking back the walking trail which runs the length of CBS.
“I’ve got a lot of years of experience on ATVs,” said Rose. “I lived in Gander where I could hop from my house onto my ATV and go wherever I wanted… But I’m not surprised that people would come out against this, because that’s human nature, that’s the way things happen… I don’t disagree with the walking trail the way it is right now. I think it’s a great idea. I would not be in favor of changing anything along the waterfront that we have now. We’ve got all kinds of trails around here… There’s lots of ways that we could bypass it… Maybe we could connect up the trail with CBN. Maybe we can connect with the one to the Southern Shore… Let’s go up around the back, find ways to come down to the restaurants and things like that. Develop it, get some economic benefit for the town, and get some government money to help you do it.”
Walter Quinlan, who lives near the Kiwanis walking trail in Kelligrews, warned the crowd they wouldn’t give him as hearty a round of applause as they had given Rose.
Quinlan said he was initially very opposed to the ATV bypass until he talked with Mayor Darrin Bent and read in The Shoreline that the route will be separate from walking trails.
“So, I’ve kind of come around,” said Quinlan. “I don’t care that you guys want to have a trail. My concern was having interactions while walking or driving my car. I want no interactions with ATVs. I’ve had about 20 in my lifetime. They’ve all been negative. I’ve almost been knocked down, my dog has almost been knocked down, I’ve been cursed and sworn at, I’ve had to dive into snowbanks to avoid a head-on collision while I was cross-country skiing. I’m not saying any of you people here would do anything like that, it’s just that my experience with ATVs on trails has been very negative.”
Quinlan said ATVers represent about 2.5 per cent of the population but are responsible for about five per cent of deaths involving motorized vehicles every year.
“My hobby is golfing. It costs me $3,000 a year to golf,” said Quinlan. “Your hobby would be using the ATVs. I don’t think I should have to subsidize your trail. I don’t think the council here should spend any money on the trail. I think you should do what cross-country skiers do. They make their own trail. They put their own money in, and they maintain a trail themselves… With that, I wish you the best of luck. I hope you all stay safe.”
Born and bred CBS resident Joe Fagan came out hard in support of connecting CBS with the rest of the ATV trail across the island, which follows the line of the former Newfoundland railbed.
Fagan said CBS is the biggest municipality in the province, next to St. John’s, and would have no problem drawing volunteers to maintain the bypass.
“With regards to the current trail down there, the walkway, I understand people don’t want to take that for ATVs – the Town made their development policy many years ago, they did a great job getting that walkway up to use,” he said.
But Fagan said it’s unfortunate there is a break in the provincial ATV trail at CBS, arguing the government has made the trail a priority by designating it a provincial park for ATVs. ATV tourism is a growing industry, he added, and CBS is missing out. As for ATVers who are causing problems on town streets, Fagan said those things occur because the riders have nowhere else to go.
Retired teacher John Elkins, an ATV enthusiast who moved to CBS four years ago, said he is delighted with the walking trail along the coast, but added ATV users need a trail too.
Elkins said he would like to see his tax dollars used to build the bypass, but suggested young people should be drafted into volunteering to help build and maintain it. That would help defray the need to use Town funds, he allowed.
“Students need volunteer hours as part of their Career Education course,” said Elkins. “This might be something that young people here could be involved with in helping make the trail for themselves and for their future.”
Jerry Vey, who grew up in CBS, was the first of several speakers to call for the old railbed through town to be reopened to ATVs. Vey claimed the Town committed back in 2012 to building a bypass before banning the machines on the railbed.
“The T’Railway should be re-opened until the Town comes up with an alternate plan for the bypass route,” Vey demaned to hoots and applause from the crowd.
But lifelong CBS livyer and ATV user Roger Jefford counselled against that idea.
“We’ve got one of the most beautiful walking trails in any part of the world,” said the Kelligrews resident, who is old enough to recall navigating the woods with a pony, long before ATVs became common. “I understand why the people on the ATVs would like to take that over.”
But Jefford argued that’s not reasonable. He also countered the argument that CBS should follow Gander and other towns that allow ATVs, pointing out those areas have much smaller populations, are relatively isolated, and still have the luxury of the old railbed running through them intact.
“I’ve seen the development of ATVs in this community,” Jefford said. “It brings a lot of enjoyment to a lot of people, young and old.”
But they also cause problems, he argued.
“I live on Tilleys Road South and any time of the day or night you can see ATVs,” he said. “Some people respect the law, they travel at the proper speed, but there are others who just wing by and pay no attention to stop signs, or red lights. I’ve witnessed one accident where a young man on an ATV put a car off the road into the ditch because of his recklessness. A lot of you people have kids, but you very seldom see kids out on the streets anymore and one of the main reasons is the ATVs speeding back and forth the highways. It’s very dangerous. I’ve got two grandchildren, one is six and the other is eight, and they can’t ride their pedal bikes or their scooters on the streets.”
Jefford said allowing people in CBS to ride ATVs up public streets to get to a bypass road would cause total chaos.
“I’ve got nothing against ATVs,” said Jefford. “But you have to do it right… And for those who say we’ll take over the walking trail – I don’t think that’s to be recommended. I’ve walked on the old track when the ATVs were allowed there, and it just doesn’t work.”
Krista Webber, who sits on the ATV Advisory Committee working with council to build the bypass, also tried to dampen any prospect of ATVs returning to the T’Railway, though she admitted to having bought a home near the old rail line in CBS because she thought she could just hop on her machine and ride wherever she liked.
“It sucks,” Webber said of not being able to drive ATVs on the walking trail. “But the big importance of this meeting is not to open the railbed, unfortunately. I know, it sucks, it does, but I think that ship has sailed and we’ve just got to concentrate on doing it somewhere else. That’s all we can do. If there’s a way we can change people’s minds about the railbed, then wonderful, I’m all for it 100 per cent, but it’s not going to happen… And I’m saying that when we do get this trail, be respectful of it.”