Prince Edward Island (PEI) ATV owners will soon be required to pay a $50 annual registration fee if they intend to use their vehicles off their own private property. The amendment to the Off-Highway Vehicle Act was passed on the final day of the PEI Legislature’s spring sitting on Tuesday. It requires ATV owners to pay a $50 annual registration fee if they intend to use the vehicle off their own private property. “If a farmer has an ATV, for example, that he uses just on his property, there’s not going to be a requirement for that to be registered, plated on an annual basis,” said Ernie Hudson, PEI’s minister of transportation and infrastructure. “It’s going to enable a flow of funds … to the ATV federation itself.” Each year, the PEI ATV Federation and local clubs will receive 80 per cent of the registration fees, or $70,000, whichever is higher. The format is similar to how the PEI Snowmobile Association operates, Hudson said. But instead of machines using the Confederation Trail, the province and the ATV federation will work together to build a trail across PEI. The plan alone will cost $100,000. License plates will stay with all-terrain vehicles when they’re sold or transferred in the province. Fines for non-compliance with the registration fee will range from $200 to $2,000, depending on the offence. And ATVs will continue to be banned from Island highways. Hudson expects the new trail will attract tourists who are also ATV enthusiasts. “If we have a dedicated trail exclusively for ATV owners, users, are we going to see an increase of ones coming to the Island to make use of this trail? I would say absolutely yes.” Peter Mellish, executive director of the PEI ATV Federation, said the move is a “big win” for a non-profit that’s trying to develop a sustainable funding model. “It’s basically an infrastructure investment fund for the communities that we have trails in on PEI,” he said. “You can’t build trails selling hot dogs and french fries. It takes money… There just isn’t enough volunteer power.” He said the federation’s membership voted in favor of the registration fee, though it wasn’t unanimous. “There’s going to be some people opposed to it, and it’s change, but it’s change for progress.” Mellish said the first objective is to connect the clubs together, then build the trail tip to tip. Eventually, he hopes it will lead to road access in communities that would be open to it. “It’s going to take us a few years, but baby steps and we’ll get there,” he said. Hudson said he hopes to have the registration format in place by the end of the year.
PEI ATV Owners to Pay Registration Fees for New Trail Development
