The freezing rain in Kingston and surrounding areas on Monday brought challenges to the region. Area school buses and flights at the Kingston Norman Rogers Airport were cancelled, a decision made by Air Canada to ensure safety.
“In the interest of the safety of the community and our customers, it was a wise move for the air carrier to cancel their flights today,” Rick Reed, manager of Kingston Airport, said.
The airport remained open for ORNGE emergency flights and other operations.
Local and out of city buses handled the road conditions better, but pedestrians struggled just to walk upright.
Franchesca Manal, a student at Queen’s University said “it was pretty tough, there were some parts of the sidewalk that were more salted than others in certain stretches. It’s hard to get up and down the street.”
Most of the sidewalks had thick layers of ice causing lots of slips and falls, making it almost impossible to get around. Many Kingstonians chose to walk on the main roads instead.
Freezing rain warnings for Kingston and surrounding areas have been lifted and temperatures have warmed up, helping the ice to melt.