With Alberta’s COVID-19 restrictions in place, many Calgarians have been heading outdoors for something safe to do.
Bowness Park has been attracting hundreds of visitors a day, especially over the holiday season.
Groomed skating, new ice bikes and a 1.6-kilometre ice path have made the location a hot spot for people wanting to spend time outdoors.
However, with a capacity of 600 people, social distancing has been challenging. Masks are also not mandatory outdoors, so not everyone is wearing a face covering.
Ward 1 councillor Ward Sutherland is encouraging some attendees to try other park spaces in the city.
“It’s becoming a little bit overpopular right now,” he said. “What I suggest to people is to maybe take a look at some additional parks — if you live in the northwest — such as the Baker Park.
“The last thing I want to do is discourage people from going outside, obviously, but keep in mind that there are other parks.”
Calgary bylaw officers frequent the park regularly, and Sutherland said no tickets have been issued for any violations.
According to park superintendent Justin Brown, precautions are being taken to keep skaters and park regulars safe.
“We monitor the parking lot — that’s our biggest gauge once we start getting full, we know we’re right near capacity or at capacity. Bylaw does come down and help us out with that when we start getting a little bit crowded,” Brown said.
“We encourage you to wear your mask please. You know, that’s what they’re there for is to keep us safe, or as safe as we can be… while enjoying this great park.”
Most skaters are taking their own steps to social distance on the frozen lagoon.
“Yeah, I’m pretty comfortable,” said skater Whisper Whiteman. “I’m staying my distance — two metres for everybody. And then we do have masks on.”
“When we’re putting skates on and stuff like that, we try to make sure we keep our distance,” said skater John Wrathall. “Even with a lot of people, there’s a good distance.”
“Some of them have masks and we’re trying to keep two metres apart,” said skater Pierre Boucher. “So far, we’re not concerned. We’re outside and keeping our distance.”
Sutherland said he has received some complaints about distancing on the ice.
“You know, there’s been some pretty long traffic lineups to get in,” he said. “The social distancing — there’s been comments on that because it’s so busy.”
In the coming days, Brown expects to open additional sections of the frozen lagoon, allowing for more social distancing.
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