The snowmobile season is just around the corner but some of the existing trails in Simcoe County may not open when the snow arrives. The Mid Ontario Snowmobile Trails (MOST) says two local clubs have been notified not to use their trails in hydro corridors.
“They are major sections of trails, if you lose them you don't have the connections,” says MOST President Barry Wilkinson.
Snowmobile clubs say Hydro One wants them to pay half the property taxes for using trails that go through hydro corridors. Wilkinson says clubs can’t afford to pay the difference and it’s against the law.
“Clubs are limited because they cannot pay land use and it’s specifically prohibited under bill 101.”
There are at least five different places in Simcoe County where trails would have to be rerouted if a new agreement with the province cannot be reached before the season begins.
Roy Maddox s on the board of governors for the district and says what happens in Central Ontario could set the stage for the rest of the province.
“All of the clubs in the province have hydro corridors for trail use and if they take this across the province we will have clubs closing trails right across the province,” says Maddox. “We need to get it resolved here and now before it does mushroom.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Infrastructure says the province is currently reviewing the rules for secondary land use in hydro corridors and that officials with hydro are working with snowmobile clubs to work out a solution.
