Welcoming snowmobiles delicate balance: town

The Town of Kensington, P.E.I. is trying to strike a balance between the economic benefits of welcoming snowmobilers and the peace and safety of residents.

The Confederation Trail, dedicated to snowmobilers in the winter, runs through Kensington, and the town allows them to use a street to get to local businesses. But even without the street access, the machines are a problem for Anne Gallant, whose bedroom window is just a few metres from the Confederation Trail.

"When they go through town at two o'clock in the morning, on the trail there's sometimes four or five of them in a row, it's very loud," said Gallant. Gallant has used the decibel meter on her iPhone to measure the sound in her bedroom at 90 decibels, about the same as someone running a lawnmower in her room.

Safety has also been an issue. Earlier this year Kensington Police Chief Lewie Sutherland nearly ran into two speeding snowmobilers.

"Two Sundays ago I had two machines come right across the road in front of me, didn't look, probably going 60 to 70 clicks," said Sutherland.

'We have commercial businesses who also pay taxes, and to just abruptly cut them off from all the snowmobile traffic is a difficult thing to do.' Kensington CAO Geoff Baker

"If I had been another 50 to 60 feet up the road, I would have hit them."

Sutherland was in his private car at the time, but he has used the radar gun in his patrol car to nab speeding snowmobilers.

Town CAO Geoff Baker said trying to be a "snowmobile-friendly" town is a delicate balance.

"Of allowing people a decent quality of life in the town, they are tax-paying residents," said Baker.

"At the same time, we have commercial businesses who also pay taxes, and to just abruptly cut them off from all the snowmobile traffic is a difficult thing to do."

The town is planning to add a noise bylaw on top of the speed limit, but it's already a challenge to enforce the speed rules. Without a snowmobile of its own, police are limited to only catching people on the roads.