Committee approves two-year pilot expansion of all-terrain vehicle trail network

The City’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee today approved a two-year pilot project expansion of the trail network for all-terrain vehicles in parts of rural Ottawa. The City’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee today approved a two-year pilot project expansion of the trail network for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in parts of Osgoode, Rideau-Jock and West Carleton-March wards. The committee approved amendments to the ATV, ORV and Snowmobile By-law to expand routes onto more City-owned lands, adding approximately 242 kilometres of new routes to the network. This includes 132 kilometres in West Carleton-March Ward, 47 kilometres in Rideau Jock Ward, and 63 kilometres in Osgoode Ward. The expansion of the ATV trail network would be a two-year pilot project that would be subject to staff review of traffic safety and rider conduct. The recommended expansions include:

• Routes near the Village of Vars that connect the village to the Larose Forest
• Routes near Osgoode Village that include a detour around Wood Duck swamp, a loop connecting west Osgoode with existing routes to the east, and a connection east from the village to the ATV club of Eastern Ontario
• Routes near North Gower that connect Paden Road to the village, including a loop within the village to access food and gas, as well as routes south and southwest of the Marlborough Forest
• Routes in West Carleton-March Ward that extend across the ward, between the City limit to the west and the Ottawa River to the east, and south from the Ottawa River almost to Rideau-Jock Ward.

The new trails would connect with trail systems outside Ottawa, providing access to a variety of trails in the eastern Ontario region. With more users on more routes, there would be opportunities for local food, drink and fuel businesses to engage with riders, helping to support local rural economies. ATV activities have been permitted on City-owned lands since a 2013 pilot project in Osgoode Ward that was formalized in 2019. At present, ATV and off-road vehicle (ORV) activities on City lands are permitted only in Osgoode Ward and on forest access roads in Marlborough Forest. The Committee approved Official Plan and zoning amendments to protect the South Bear Brook Wetland. The Province has identified 561.5 hectares of land in Ottawa’s southeast as provincially significant, requiring the City to provide protection through its Official Plan and Zoning By-law. The amendments would not limit existing agricultural uses nor any other activities aside from site alteration and development. Existing land uses and uses that do not interfere with the wetlands would still be permitted. The Official Plan amendment would update the schedule of Natural Heritage Systems to include the wetland, which is located generally south of Highway 417 and north of Mitch Owens Road, between Boundary Road and Farmers Way. The lands would be given a Greenspace designation and a Significant Wetland sub-designation. The zoning amendment would rezone the lands as Environmental Protection to prohibit development and site alteration. Wetlands provide multiple environmental, social, and economic benefits, including for wildlife habitat, fish spawning and nursery areas, water quality protection, carbon storage and sequestration, and flood risk reduction. Wetland benefits are particularly significant for maintaining resilience to the impacts of climate change, such as drought and extreme rain events. Ontario has around 35 million hectares of wetlands, but even though there are still many in northern Ontario, they are disappearing in southern Ontario. The Committee also approved Official Plan and zoning amendments to facilitate expansion of an existing quarry on March Road. The applicant is in the process of acquiring a provincial Aggregate Resource Act licence that would allow the expansion. The applicant has demonstrated that the natural environmental concerns can be reinstated and that the ground water, surface water, noise, dust and vibration impacts will all be mitigated and monitored as part of that provincial licence. The Official Plan amendment would redesignate the subject lands from Greenspace to Rural Countryside and add a Bedrock Resource Area Overlay. It would also remove the Natural Environmental Area sub-designation and Natural Heritage Features Overlay. The zoning for these lands would change from Environmental Protection to Mineral Extraction. Recommendations from today’s meeting will rise to Council on Wednesday, April 16.