The purpose of the Act is to prevent the arbitrary closing of private or “access” roads and to resolve potential disputes that occur when the property of one party is landlocked and the only vehicle access to it is over a road on property owned by another party. The Act is especially relevant in areas like cottage country where owners or tenants are totally dependent on these roads for access to their property or for island cottages where access to a place to park a car and launch a boat is essential.
The Act defines “access road” as a road on private land that serves as the only motor vehicle access route to one or more parcels of land.
The Act states that no one shall place or maintain a barrier or other obstacle across an access road that prevents access to one or more parcels of land, except when:
(a) a judge has granted an application for a court order to close the road;
(b) the closure is made in accordance with an agreement in writing with the owners of the affected land;
(c) the closure is of a temporary nature for the purposes of repair or maintenance of the road; or
(d) the closure is made for a single period of no greater than twenty-four hours in a year for the purpose of preventing the acquisition of “prescriptive rights” (refers to one’s obtaining the legal right to the use of land because of long-term unrestricted usage).