The city of Yellowknife has its work cut out for it in its review of the current snowmobile bylaw.
Yellowknife and Whitehorse are the only two Canadian cities that allow snowmobile traffic on their streets. And for many years, the bylaw appeared to be running smoothly.
But one only has to remember the horrific death of Scott Toohey in December 1992, struck by a speeding teenager on Frame Lake while he walked home from work, to realize what can happen.
Now, six years later, we get the city's municipal enforcement manager Paul Gamble admitting that "bylaw just doesn't have the manpower or the money to enforce (rules governing snowmobiles in the city)".
The latest round of dangerous incidents last month is a clear warning that something must be done if another pointless death is to be averted.
Yellowknifer Abe Mackay is leading the lobby for an all-out ban. His wife had to 'jump for her life' in early December to avoid being struck down by a snowmobile on Finlayson Drive. Was she in the way? No, she was just trying to open her mailbox near her home. Two days later a puppy was killed instantly when a speeding snowmobile crushed him on Con Road.
While these drivers are subject to the same laws as cars and trucks, police admit it is far easier for a speed demon on a snowmachine to escape.
Bylaw charged a driver last month clocked at 109 kilometres across Frame Lake -- where the speed limit is 30 kilometres per hour -- but in their own words they aren't even close to being able to handle the problem.
Gamble's plan to "explore all the options available to the city before changing the bylaw" is a start. There are far more safe drivers than dangerous ones on our streets and after all we are a winter city. The answer may lie in increased licensing fees and costlier penalties to cover the expense of more enforcement.
Snowmobiling in a city is a rare priviledge that calls for extra care and caution which may well make it more expensive. If snowmobilers don't wish to pay the price, no one else should have to -- certainly not with their life.
Giant Mine has seen darker days but financially speaking, its owner Royal Oak is on the ropes and Yellowknifers along with it.
There is the $750,000 in tax arrears owed to the city. There is the 260,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide bearing dust buried on site. There is a $400,000 deposit to carry out the multi-million dollar cleanup if the mine closes.
Most of all there are approximately 280 Yellowknifers working at the mine, Giant's greatest asset and the greatest loss to this city if the mine were to close.
One market analyst described Royal Oak as "Having more lives than an accident-prone tabby."
We can only hope there is life left yet and expect governments to plan for the possibility there isn't.
Many residents most likely welcomed the news there would be no tax hike this year. This makes it six years in a row taxes have remained the same.
But maybe the reason council hasn't raised taxes in six years is because it wouldn't dare. Raising taxes might not be such a good idea while there are still user fees to be paid - user fees that were only supposed to be temporary. The city makes more money from these fees than it does from taxes.
Last year, council talked about doing away with some of the fees. It didn't. This year, there was no mention of it. Let's hope council acts on user fees next year and banishes any thought of raising taxes.