We flooded the rink this morning, we had supervised hours from 6-9pm, and we shoveled and flooded the ice this evening. It was a busy day at the rink!
The ice is in somewhat rough shape after warmer temperatures today. The forecast calls for +1C from 1pm to 8pm tomorrow, so we’re closing the rink for the day tomorrow. “Rink closed” signs are posted and caution tape is up now.
We should be able to open the rink again on Thursday based on the current forecast.
The rink is open again at noon today after being closed on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 because of above freezing temperatures.
Reminders to anyone using the rink:
– always close both gates to the hockey rink when you are the last to leave
– always shovel the rink surface before and after using it (skaters and hockey players must shovel if they want to use it)
– when shoveling, do not leave snow piles on the ice. snow piles against the hockey boards must be lifted out of the rink
– stay off the ice when the temperature is above freezing (like yesterday)
– stay off the ice when the “Rink Closed” signs are out (like yesterday)
All of the items above help expedite flooding to create a better ice surface.
The community rink at Kingsmere Park opened for skating today. Since it is the beginning of the season, the ice surface is a bit rough but it will get smoother over the next week. As well, the ice on the north side of the boarded rink is thin and so everyone is asked to stay away from the area marked off with caution tape for now.
Please observe physical distancing rules and see the City of Ottawa website for more details on COVID protocols for outdoor rinks. Per the latest guidance, a maximum of 25 skaters are allowed on the boarded ice at one time, and 15 on the puddle rink.
Thank you to the volunteers who worked hard in recent days to get the rink ready for the holidays!
At the Glabar Park Community Alliance Annual General Meeting on October 5th, Councillor Kavanagh announced that Glabar Park – and some adjacent neighbourhoods – would be designated as Gateway Communities. Speed limits within these communities were to be reduced sometime this fall. Signs indicating a 40 km/hr limit were installed earlier this month at every entry point into Glabar Park from Maitland, Woodroffe and Carling. This is one more traffic calming measure being taken by the City of Ottawa to address the many complaints about speeding traffic made by residents.
City shares data from Lenester speed board
On a similar note, the Alliance recently requested data from the speed board located on Lenester, just west of Aaron. For the year to October 19, 2021, there were over 278,000 vehicles observed. Bearing in mind that this is only for one direction, Lenester probably had traffic of about 1,500 vehicles per day. 96% of those trips were below the old speed limit of 50 km/hr, and 56% were already travelling under the new speed limit of 40 km/hr. The vast majority of the remaining vehicles were travelling in the 50-60 km/hr range.
Take a photo of a pumpkin that you’ve carved or decorated and submit it to glabargourds@gmail.com by 6pm (ET) on Sunday, October 31, 2021.
Winners will be announced here and on the Alliance and Glabarhood Facebook pages.
Entrants must live in Glabar Park.
