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Morinville may allow off-highway vehicles on roads in a pilot project next year.
In a council meeting late last month, the council accepted bringing up the project in their 2024 budget deliberations.
The pilot project was originally introduced by councillor Ray White, who has been paying attention to a similar project in Legal.
"I've had some conversations with the mayor, and she said everything went really smoothly," stated White. "There was some apprehension at first, but they put in a pilot project and after a couple of months people were comfortable enough to put an actual bylaw in place."
White believes this apprehension comes from people worried about speeding and loud noises.
"There's a fear in it, and I get that, I totally understand that," said White.
However, White believes that the benefits will outweigh any potential problems that may arise.
"You can't take your quad down to the gas station. You need to load it on a truck or use jerrycans," said White. "You can't take it to the carwash and wash it. You need to load it onto a truck or trailer, unload it, wash it, load it back up, and come back and unload it again. It's a big pain."
White added that this bylaw would also allow people to enter roads into neighbouring communities.
"So if I wanted to visit a friend out on the farm, I could do that."
As for risks, White said that he doesn't see many.
"The town of Morinville has about four or five off-highway vehicles that are used for watering trees and emptying garbage cans. I guess if it's safe for them, it should be safe for everyone else."
Other communities that allow off-highway vehicles on roads include Cold Lake, Whitecourt, Sturgeon County, Wetaskiwin, and Parkland County.
The cost of running the pilot project is expected to be around $25,000.