BONNYVILLE – After several long discussions and ongoing hesitation from some MD of Bonnyville council members, a new Weight Restriction and Road Ban Bylaw has been approved and is in effect within the municipality's boundaries.
Changes to how the MD monitors the condition of municipal roads and highways have been in the works since the spring of 2022 when the first ‘no road ban’ pilot project took effect.
The goal of the pilot project was to be more industry-friendly, opting for road use agreements rather than enforcing blanket road bans during times where roads are most susceptible to damage from heavy loads.
RELATED STORY: One-year pilot project will see no road bans in MD of Bonnyville
MD staff from the Infrastructure Services Department monitored roads and evaluated the results of the pilot project to assist with establishing a new and improved bylaw around road use and wear-and-tear of municipal infrastructure.
What administration gleaned from the pilot project was that not all transporters of heavy loads are willing to sign road use agreements, and agriculture producers, who were exempt under the previous bylaw, are just as likely to cause damage to municipal roads.
When administration presented the findings to council, they offered a two-pronged solution to deal with these concerns – continue to enact road bans for heavy-weighed vehicles that refuse to sign road use agreements and remove the exemption previously afforded to agricultural vehicles licensed and registered for highway use.
The first reading of the updated Weight Restriction and Road Ban Bylaw was carried on Feb. 14.
Significant changes include removal of the exemption for agricultural activities, except for the use of farm equipment, as defined in the bylaw.
The bylaw states, "Farm equipment means implements of husbandry designed and intended for use in farming operations but does not include trucks, trailers, or semi-trailers, or farm equipment that is loaded on a truck, trailer, or semi-trailer or that is towing equipment other than another piece of farm equipment.”
Another significant change is the removal of a Road Ban Committee, which included the reeve, the chief administrative officer (CAO) and the director of transportation and utilities.
Moving forward it will be at the “sole discretion” of the CAO as to the determination that the use of a highway by a commercial vehicle(s) may or will likely cause damage to a highway, to authorize and allow any operator to apply for a road use agreement, and to impose or remove road bans.
Prior to council passing second and third reading, councillors Josh Crick and Mike Krywiak voiced lingering concerns with removing the exemption provided to the agriculture industry from road bans and the need for road use agreements.
“We are just suggesting that a loaded semi-tractor trailer unit hauling whatever, could do just as much damage as an industry truck can have. If there is a farm operation taking place, it's just a matter of a road use agreement,” said the MD’s CAO Al Hoggan. “So that [agricultural] producer would still be able to use the road and be over the weight limit of whatever that ban would be at that time just by signing a road use agreement. There is a way for everybody to haul on the road and to ensure that we have some control and can mitigate the damage to our road network, particularly in that spring season.”
Crick inquired into how rigorous the process was for farmers to sign a road use agreement with the municipality.
Bryan Bespalko, the general manager of Infrastructure Services for the MD, described the process as quite simple.
“It's as simple as calling into the MD shop. My assistant there will take care of any paperwork that has to be filled out and get back to the person requesting it and they sign up. There are conditions on the road use agreement that they are responsible for any damage and then they can get issued that fairly quickly,” stated Bespalko.
There was no discussion around how the municipality determines which hauler is responsible for damage to municipal roads or how those with road use agreements will be billed for repairs to municipal infrastructure.
Kyrwiak said he finds the new policy creates additional hassle for agricultural producers.
“[It] is just more red tape and time consuming for farmers... Farmers should be exempt, that is my opinion,” he said.
Coun. Darcy Skarsen challenged the sentiment, asking why farmers should be exempt.
In response, Krywiak said, “They produce food for us, and I think they should be exempt. It has always been the case, so why all of a sudden make the change?”
Reeve Barry Kalinski shared that a fully loaded or overloaded Super B or tridem trailer can cause serious damage to roadways.
“I think the farmers in our area want to keep our roads good as well. Everybody out there always has a load that's overloaded every once a while, but if everyone's paying attention as best they can, we're going to minimize the damage on our roads,” said Kalinski.
"Our roads are really well used, and it wouldn't be fair if the farmers got exemption and everybody else that pays taxes has to follow the rules. I don't think that's a fair field,” he added.
RELATED STORY: Road ban policy may see changes next season
