Some local citizens who opposed expanded access to the Town of Oxford’s streets are disappointed in Council’s decision; Others are pleased at the greater convenience; In a year, we’ll do it all again.
* Council Agenda Package for 29 July 2026 available here
* Video of the Special Council Meeting to Amend the Road Trails Designation Bylaw
Eighteen months ago, Oxford Town Council passed a bylaw to allow off-highway vehicles (OHVs; ATVs) on a portion of the community’s streets. The argument at the time was to allow local residents and visitors to the community to transit from the trail access on upper Main Street, near the 104 Connector, down through the town as far as the Big B’s Variety store on Lower Main St., and from Main St. down Water St. to the trailhead on Station Street, where the Great Canadian Trail on the former railway track is established. This route, it was argued, would increase tourism access to local businesses at a time when off-roading and trail riding was exploding across the province as a popular past time.
This month, Town Council considered —and on Wednesday evening approved— an expansion of OHV access to all of the town’s streets. Oxford is the second community in Nova Scotia to do this, after the Town of Pictou earlier this month.
Opposition to the proposed expansion was led by local resident Glenn Pettigrew, who circulated a petition that garnered 280 signatories: 207 against, 73 in favour, which he presented to council before second reading and adoption. Pettigrew also included several letters he had received by email from residents in opposition to expanding OHV access to the entire town.
His presentation was followed by additional comments from his spouse, Connie Pettigrew, who brought a letter from the newly-formed “Concerned Citizens Group,” which offered four reasons for opposing the bylaw: “One, noise and enforcement; Two, we feel that the existing laws we have in place now are appropriate, just not enforced; Three, we cannot enforce the bylaw we have in place now, therefore we don’t understand why we would broaden the access to every street in Oxford; Four, our roads are for legally-licensed drivers, not people who don’t hold a valid license, registration and insurance, again, not enforced.”
Pettigrew said she appreciates the desire of OHV owners who who live in town want the convenience of driving from their homes to the trail without having to trailer their vehicles. She questioned whether that convenience supersedes the peace and quiet of the residents who are living in town. She suggested one of the reasons given for the amendment —an increase in tourism that would support local businesses — is unlikely, saying “tourism isn’t going to increase in Oxford if it hasn’t already increased in the last two years.”
Oxford CAO Linda Cloney read into the record a letter of support for the bylaw from Lower Main St. business owners Branden and Anna Boyd.
Deputy Mayor Chrystal McNutt also presented a petition to council, saying she spent “four or five hours” canvassing in the town, and found 97 people in support of the amendment. The content of that petition has not yet been posted to the town’s website. Glenn Pettigrew observed that the contents of McNutt’s petition were not made available to the public hearing, while his had been provided to the town five days in advance.
McNutt says she was “overwhelmed” by messages from supporters of expanded OHV access, and read a number of messages from those residents. McNutt also cited the experience of the province of Quebec, where “…hundreds of towns have adapted their infrastructure to be ‘ATV-friendly,'” since 1996, mentioning statistics that showed that province benefitting from “approximately $1.5-billion in total economic impact across Quebec annually.”
McNutt added information from neighbouring New Brunswick, where eight communities have opened to OHV traffic, with an approximate economic impact of nearly $680-million across that province.
With the floor opened for questions, Glenn Pettigrew asked all councillors to state how OHV access expansion would benefit community members who do not own one of the machines. Deputy Mayor McNutt mentioned other things in the community that are supported but in which not everyone participates, such as the ballfield and skatepark. “Not everything we support affects or improves everyone else’s life in this town, but we have to be well-rounded and do lots of things.”
Councillor Paul Jones said “It opens up opportunity for everybody in town to take advantage of what’s available with the income of these new visitors coming to town… we mentioned the Arena, we mentioned the Legion… there could be other ones too. If we close our minds to just two streets, then we’re narrowing that opportunity to just these two streets.” He added, “One thing that was brought up in the last minute, a very good point by Councillor Black, let’s try it for 12 months and see what happens. If there’s no negative effect in those 12 months, then I’d say it’s a great idea.”
In response to a comment from Glenn Pettigrew that the bylaw would be difficult to change in the future, Mayor Greg Henley disagreed, saying the bylaw is limited to one year, and Council could convene a special meeting to change it at any time, “if it turns into a dog and pony show like you think it will, we can rescind it… We do have that power.”
Pettigrew was dubious about a claim that there had been no complaints in the past two years about OHV traffic. Councillor Jones noted that there had been none on Main and Water Streets, which are the legal OHV access streets under the bylaw: “Have we had complaints of someone at midnight coming down the street? Yes, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.”
Councillor Olivia Canning also lent her support to the amendment. Nothing that she did not own an ATV, the bylaw would not benefit her directly. She said Pettigrew’s petition’s main point was directed at “illegal activity, and that’s not what this was about.”
Canning said she understood Pettigrew’s frustrations, “I live on Duke Street, I hear all of the illegal activity, just like you do.” But she said she had seen no issues with the machines on Main St.
Canning and Pettigrew had differing opinions on the matter of enforcement, which falls under the purview of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the RCMP.
Councillors Carla Black and Padraic Moore discussed police response to illegal OHV activity, with Moore saying the RCMP had responded and were effective in dealing with some offenders in his neighbourhood.
Councillor Brenton Colborne clarified that the new bylaw would be in effect for one year, at which point Council would be called upon to review it before voting again to continue or to rescind town-wide OHV access.
CAO Cloney noted that if Council voted to support the amendment, OHVs would not immediately be allowed access to all town streets. There would likely be a need for approval from the relevant provincial department to go ahead, and there is a required period of advertising the change to the public.
A call to vote on the bylaw amendment saw councillors pass the motion five-to-1, with Councillor Moore opposing. In a comment on social media after the meeting, he clarified that he personally supported the expanded access of OHVs to town streets, but felt that the citizens of the town deserved to vote on the measure. It was not clear whether he was calling for an immediate plebiscite, or proposing that one be added to the ballot in the next municipal election in the Fall of 2028.
Councillor Canning also followed up on social media, discussing her view on the bylaw vote, and posting the phone number with the Department of Natural Resources where citizens can report OHV operators who are in violation of the regulations: 1-800-565-2224 (24 hour line).
Hello Oxford sat down with Glenn Pettigrew for his reaction, the day after Council approved the expansion of OHV access to all town streets:
This isn’t the decision you were hoping for.
“No, but I actually wasn’t surprised either. I’ve been hearing a lot of rumours that this is a done deal. It happened shortly after the night Pictou approved it. So it’s monkey see, monkey do with this town when it comes to ATVs and Pictou. So no, I was a little disappointed, but not surprised.”
Beyond the petitions that you had and that Councillor McNutt presented, do you believe that the majority of people in town do not want ATVs on all the streets?
“I wasn’t able to speak to the majority of the people or all the people in town…not everybody was home.” “We know that people that own ATVs in town are going to support this, but they’re not the majority of people.”
“I’d also like to mention Crystal McNutt’s comment about skate parks and the ball fields. We’re comparing apples and oranges here….We’re talking about ATV traffic on our streets. Where are children that play at that skate park and the baseball fields will be at sometimes? And they do play in the streets, on Duke Street and Waverly and probably more streets around town.”
What’s going to happen going forward?
“I believe that democracy in the town of Oxford last night was not well served. Considering how many people signed the petition, Oxford citizens that paid taxes in this town, (…) did not get served well last night. Democracy did not serve these people well…. I hope that some people will have long memories coming down to the election. Hopefully people will stand up as candidates because we’re going to have some turnover. Absolutely.”
If tomorrow or in two years, they do the plebiscite and Oxford voters in the majority don’t mind ATVs on all the streets, then what?
“That’s what the rest of the public will live with. The rest of the ones that don’t want them will still have to live with it, because nothing’s gonna change. We still gotta live with the choices that the majority made.”
“I would like to thank all the Oxford citizens who signed my petition one way or the other. I appreciate the time you took to have your voice put on paper...”
“I encourage all the citizens of Oxford when they have a complaint, to file it at the town hall, call them, record the date and time and the person you spoke to and the nature of your complaint. And if your complaint is serious enough, don’t hesitate to call the RCMP. But if you’ve got a complaint, complain to town hall. Don’t complain to your mother, your sister, your brother, your neighbour. Complain to town hall and make sure it’s acted upon.”
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Helpful links
File a Complaint with Town Hall
List of Bylaws in the Town of Oxford
Oxford Town Council Agenda packages
Oxford Town Council Minutes (posting delayed until approved)
ATVANS (ATV Association of Nova Scotia)
I not suprised at the out come, this is how Springhill went under. The current council of Oxford NS has no idea of how to run a town than BOBO the clown.