Dear Editor,

From my window, I have a clear view of the PPJ Trail. Over the winter, it was a noisy neighbour as snowmobiles make a lot of sound for the amount of cargo they move. As soon as the season was over, I could see people walking their dogs along the trail. As soon as the ice was off the trail, I began to see mothers with strollers and tykes on bikes.

I know two fellows whose means of transport is biking from Bristol to run a business, buy groceries and supplies, etc. It’s the cross town route for many folks who walk or bike for health and fun. It’s the one roadway in the Pontiac which is not dominated by motorized vehicles. It’s the last vestige of the town square where everyone could congregate at ease. All that will change if motorized vehicles are allowed to use the PPJ Trail.

How can we think that four-wheelers can safely pass or meet mothers and children, bikers or elderly strollers? The trail is narrow — it was built for one-way traffic on rails. The two just can’t mix. Everything that’s not powerful and heavy will be eliminated.

I challenge the assumption that motorized vehicles will be adding to tourism revenues. ATVs, a term which once meant All-Terrain Vehicle, have access to most of the back roads in Pontiac. How will it add to current business if they’re driving the trail, bypassing the towns? I’ve watched the weekend traffic coming up Hwy. 148: many trucks with ATVs, big gas cans and coolers of beer. I think the amount of traffic that Pontiac businesses are reaping is largely local and not likely to increase by people wanting to drive a straight and narrow trail, dodging strollers, bicyclists, bears, deer, porcupines and most significantly, other ATVs. Once opened to motorists, it is unlikely to be taken back; the leisurely trail will be just another highway.

Robert Wills

Shawville and Thorne, Que.