On Tuesday, Prince Edward County council voted to examine commercial use on the Millennium Trail after reports emerged concerning a wine tour operator who is planning to deploy large six-seater side-by-side UTVs (Utility Task Vehicles) on the 49 km trail.

The resolution put forward by Bloomfield/Hallowell Coun. Brad Nieman hopes to examine the expanded use of the Millennium Trail in recent years, as other forms of personal transportation such as electric bikes, rascal scooters, and golf carts have joined the trail’s regular compliment of cyclists, ATV operators, pedestrians, and equestrians, since its regulatory bylaw came into force in 2001.

Concerns about the commercial venture employing large side-by-side UTVs on the trail were front and centre as council heard comments from a large gathering of worried parties, including Patrick Maloney, chair of the PEC Trails Committee, who had the following apprehensions:

Council discussed freezing all commercial activity on the trail until a staff report on bylaw amendments such as the addition of a definition of trail recreational purposes, a potential licencing regime for commercial services, and the risk/liability of permitting various types of commercial activity on the trail is brought back in June.

But in the end, council decided not to go ahead with the commercial freeze, as it would have a prohibitory effect on all ventures that utilize the trail, including bike, ATV, and horse rentals.

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