Entire Rideau Canal Skateway closed ‘until further notice’ due to weather

The entire length of the Rideau Canal Skateway will remain closed to skating “until further notice due to current weather conditions,” the National Capital Commission (NCC) says.

The commission, which manages the skateway, closed the full length of the popular winter attraction late Saturday night, just one week into the 2019-20 season.

A strip of the skateway opened on Jan. 18, which the NCC extended to seven kilometres of the 7.8-km skateway four days later.

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However, temperatures in the national capital began warming at that time and have stayed relatively mild since, hovering around 0 C or just below, according to Environment Canada.

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Ottawa also got hit with rain, freezing rain and snow on Saturday, which made for rather messy conditions.

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“Our crews will continue necessary operations to reopen the Skateway as quickly as possible, as weather permits,” the NCC wrote on the skateway’s webpage.

In the meantime, the NCC asks residents and visitors to stay off the closed skateway and to “respect the barricades and the signs installed at access points.”