Public Service Announcement

Safety First with Outdoor Skating

(February 11, 2011) HRM wants to continue to remind citizens to always use caution when skating outdoors. With Municipal Operations crews working full time on the recent snow clearing and Canada Games removal operations, the next round of ice thickness testing will not be carried out until the week of February 14 to February 18, again depending on the weather.

The last round of testing by HRM shows many of the surfaces past the safety reading for individual skating and some for group skating as per Red Cross recommendations (15 cm for individual skating and 21 cm for group skating). However, the surfaces across the region remain variable and citizens wanting to skate on outdoor lakes and ponds should always be wary of the recent temperatures which would factor in to the conditions and thickness.

Ice thickness testing is randomly done on each lake and gives a general average of conditions which can vary over the entire surface. HRM urges individuals to use extreme caution in areas where streams flow in and out of lakes.

For updated results, call the ice line at 490-3577. The results of next week’s testing will be added to the website at www.halifax.ca under ‘Ice Thickness Reports’ when complete.

This service is provided with the understanding that anyone using the lakes does so at their own risk. HRM tests approximately 80 lakes and ponds.

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Contact:
Shaune MacKinlay, Manager
HRM Public Affairs
490-6531