Vroom. Screech. Thwump.

According to the CBC, the New Brunswick Trail Council has torn up their agreement with Trans Canada Trails, over an argument about the use of motorised vehicles on the trails.  (Surprisingly enough, it was the NB association that was against it.)

Now, I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of ATVs to begin with, and I'm especially not a fan of them on the same trails as pedestrians.  I feel that's just asking for trouble — a feeling that's increased by the people I knew who used them.  The reason this all jumps to mind is because of a comment by a member of the New Brunswick All-Terrain Vehicle Association.

"When you're driving down the road through town and there's a pedestrian who wants to cross the street, the pedestrian has the right of way and you're supposed to stop. And we don't see the kerfuffle for doing the same on a dirt road or bush road or trail or whatever."

I have one word for Mr. Sovey about the difference between what he's debating and the ill-suited metaphor he's trying to apply (and which, in my opinion, shows why it doesn't work here), and that word is sidewalks.  I doubt Mr. Sovey would go for a walk in the middle of the street, and I hope he wouldn't drive his ATV down the sidewalks.  Either of those, I'd suggest, would be more appropriate comparisons for what's being discussed here than a pedestrian, on a designated pedestrian-only pathway, attempting to cross a street at a designated crossing area.