Response to Cape Breton Post article on ATVs

Response to front page article: Blueberry Hill/ATV issue.

I was saddened reading the article on the front page of Saturaday's issue (dated August 23, 2008). I have to say that being a long time ATV enthusiast, engaged to a long time ATV enthusiast (over 15 years), I was offended by the broad spectrum brush of which we were all painted. I was further offended when reading the multitude of hate filled responses to the article online. I can't sit back and bite my tongue on the issue.

First of all, Mr. Serroul is mistaken in saying that the Blueberry Hill area is not an ATV trail. It is, in fact, a crossover trail linking the two halves of the main marked trail which is split by Victoria Road. Approximately eight years ago (the time he says the issue began), the RCMP at the time asked that ATV/MX riders use Blueberry Hill instead of travelling Victoria Road. It was a safer route for ATV riders, regular traffic and pedestrians. The police are also known to use this trail when they are on their ATVs for their own purposes.

A second note, Mr. Serroul does not make it easy on himself when it comes to ATV riders. He has been known to come out of his home or stop his car to yell obcenities. I know this because I have witnessed it first hand. Mr. Serroul has also been known to swerve his car toward ATV riders, running them off of the dirt road and into the uncleared bush. I know this also because my fiance and I, plus a number of our friends who live and ride in the Whitney Pier area, have been victim to it. I will admit that there were no phone calls to police because we all passed it off as just an angry man who was set in his ways. We have tried to keep our riding in the area to within respectable hours, considering that maybe the noise of the bikes was what was bothering him. Now I can see that we all should be covering ourselves and filing the appropriate reports.

As for a death on Blueberry Hill, that can happen anywhere ATVs are able to go. The gentleman who died in that accident was a friend of my fiance's, well loved and well respected. What happened was an unfortunate accident that could have happened to anyone. I think that he deserves a little more respect than to be belittled in an attack article in a local newspaper.

As for a car on Blueberry Hill -- it's called Blueberry Hill for a reason and there is more than one way to access it by road. If you see people up there in cars at this time of year, they're most likely picking berries. I have been guilty of that offence myself, picking berries with my kids. Harmless.

Mr. Serroul has tried many avenues before regarding this issue and has been shot down at most of them. Approximately three years ago he had contacted his local MLA about the issue. There was nothing done because the area is marked as a crossover to avoid higher traffic main streets and highways. Just as ATVs are allowed to cross the Sydney-Glace Bay Highway by CBU, they are allowed to cross Blueberry Hill. Mr. Serroul was sent a letter stating this from the MLAs office. How do I know? I was doing a school work term there at the time.

As for the comments online: Not everyone who owns a bike is in receipt of Social Assistance Benefits, nor are they drug dealers. All the people that I know who ride work full-time jobs, have families, pay taxes and buy their vehicles with the credit they had built. If they don't have enought credit, they save their money. I will admit it's not a cheap sport/hobby but it can be fulfilling, keeps you moving and keeps you outdoors. ATV riding is not is not something that is illegal nor is it dangerous when the right precautions are taken. It can be just as dangerous to drive a car or street bike on the roads -- accidents happen whether we like it or not, some are avoidable but most are not.

As for walking trails. I hate to say it but there are no marked walking trails in this area. There are marked hiking trails toward Baddeck, Ingonish, Washabuck, etc but none in the CBRM. If someone is walking in the woods, they are most likely walking an ATV offroad trail. Also, people who are large plots of land or farms also have ATV trails for their personal use so it is possible that whoever was walking in the woods was actually trespassing on someone's property.

People on ATVs have to take responsibility for themselves. Yes, there are some who blatantly disrespect law and safety but the majority are normal, law-abiding people who merely enjoy a different type of fun. I believe this is a case of one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch. If Mr. Serroul and others are so concerned, why don't they write the license plates down off of the bikes? By law, every bike has to be licensed, registered and insured, which most are so why aren't they writing the information down.
I could speak a lot more on the issue but I think I've made my point.