Town of Hanna council looks to modernize traffic bylaw

 

Stu Salkeld

 

The Town of Hanna council has begun looking at its aged traffic bylaw and is discussing ways to modernize it. The discussion began at the May 28 information meeting.

 

Readers should note information meetings are not full regular council meetings and are usually held for discussions and presentations; resolutions are usually held until the next regular council meeting.

 

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Matthew Norburn presented councillors with a report on the town’s existing traffic bylaw. “The current traffic bylaw has not been updated since 2007,” stated the CAO.

 

“It references an old version of the Traffic Safety Act (TSA), when bylaw officers were able to enforce that provincial legislation. Since bylaw officers can no longer enforce the TSA unless they’re a peace officer, the updated version of this bylaw allows officers to enforce more restrictions that were mentioned in the TSA.”

 

Norburn noted staff have already begun collecting updates to the traffic bylaw and wanted to present them to council for discussion.

 

Some of the updates include changes to school zone times, which are now set from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on school days.

 

Parking regulations have been clarified. There is no parking allowed on sidewalks, in crosswalks, within five metres of a crosswalk or fire hydrant, in front of driveways, in fire lanes, or in handicap-marked spots.

 

Recreational vehicles (RVs) or trailers must be parked in front of the owner’s property, adjacent to the owner’s property, or in front of a property where the owner has received permission to park.

 

Angle parking is permitted only if it does not interfere with traffic and there is enough width to accommodate it, as determined at the discretion of the bylaw officer.

 

Vehicles must be moved every 72 hours.

 

Off-highway vehicles (OHVs), such as snowmobiles or ATVs, can no longer operate within town limits, except for use by town-authorized personnel or first responders. The current bylaw had previously allowed their use between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

 

A vehicle that obstructs traffic, interferes with snow removal, or hinders other public works can be towed without notice to the owner. An enforcement officer may also order vehicles to be moved, or have them towed, if they continue to violate parking rules.

 

If any object or structure—such as a large dumpster—is placed on the road without permission from the town, the Town of Hanna has the authority to remove and impound it.

 

Finally, a liability clause states that the Town of Hanna is not liable for any damage to vehicles or property resulting from enforcement actions taken in good faith under the bylaw.

 

The CAO noted some of the suggestions were added to address vehicles which may impede the town in wintertime while it’s trying to plow snow.

 

Coun. Sandra Beaudoin stated there have been suggestions about angle parking before and asked if safety has been taken into account. Norburn responded that town staff have examined the issue and feel angle parking can be accommodated safely as suggested.

 

Mayor Danny Povaschuk noted several times during the discussion the proposed changes aren’t even a draft bylaw yet, but simply ideas for discussion.

 

Councillors picked out a few details or suggestions to discuss. Coun. Angie Warwick stated that changes mention peace officers which the town doesn’t have. Norburn observed peace officers can enforce more than a bylaw officer can and the Town of Hanna’s bylaw officer is part-time.

 

Coun. Beaudoin mentioned the proposed changes to snowmobiles and ATVs in town and asked if there would be specific areas those vehicles would be permitted.

 

Coun. Warwick stated she felt that as long as such users were trying to get to the edge of town as directly and safely as possible she didn’t have a problem with snowmobiles and ATVs. Mayor Povaschuk agreed.

 

The mayor pointed out there are always one or two people who abuse town rules.

 

The mayor also suggested including proposed traffic bylaw changes in the town newsletter to give the public a chance to comment.