Based on the recommendation and support of the Public Safety Transportation Committee and the Cook County Parks & Trails Commission, along with many letters of support from the community and a 5-2 vote in favor from the planning commission, Cook County commissioners voted 5-0 in favor of adopting the proposed amendments to the ATV ordinance that will now open up the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais to the west intersection of County Road 92, the Iron Lake Road, for ATV use.
Cook County Land Commissioner Tim Nelson told commissioners that the request was centered on striking a balance between allowance of “other” types of motorized vehicles to utilize the Gunflint Trail along with public and traffic safety concerns. He also added that sine the ATV ordnance had passed that allowed ATV travel on certain portions of the Gunflint Trail, “There hasn’t been an increase in traffic accidents that were attributed to ATV traffic.”
The two planning commission members who voted against the amendment were opposed because of the risk of possible accidents between ATVs and automobiles, but the five planning commission board members who voted in support said they didn’t see any reason that the Gunflint Trail couldn’t be expanded to be shared with ATVs. The planning commission received more than 35 letters of support and a handful of letters against the amendment.
Commissioner Bobby Deschampe said there was plenty of room in the county for ATVs, and John McClure, resident of Grand Marais and longtime member of the Cook County ATV Club, suggested ATVs be allowed to be driven to the end of the Gunflint Trail.
Cook County administrator Jeff Cadwell said the U.S. Forest Service recommended that the county not extend ATVs further than Iron Lake because some portions of the Trail beyond Iron Lake aren’t up to speed for ATV users.
The county defines an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) as, “A Class 1 motorized vehicle with: (1) not less than three, but not more than six, low pressure or non-pneumatic tires; (2) a total dry weight of 2,000 pounds or less; and (3), a total width from outside to tire rim or outside tire rim of 50 inches or less.”
. Commissioners approved an amendment to the subdivision ordinance that creates a safe walking route for all new plats located within one mile of any school that has a primary enrollment of kindergarten through eighth grade.
The planning commission said that by adding the provision it maintains the county’s eligibility within the “Safe Routes to School” program. The highway department wants to continue participating in this program so the county can create a new trail along the Gunflint Trail from Highway 61 to Highway 7.
. Cook County Auditor/Treasurer Braidy Powers presented the .5 percent Transportation Tax to the county board at its July 23 meeting and the news was good.
Through May 2019, the tax had brought in $278,170.43, up from the 2018 first five-month total of $246,302.58, an overall increase of 12.9 percent. Funds taken in by the transportation tax are used by the Cook County Highway Department.
Each of the five months presented, January through May, were higher than the year’s same previous months. January 2019 was up 13.7 percent, February 3.4 percent, March 6.6 percent, April 25 percent and May 11.4 percent.
Leave a Reply