While the glassy surfaces of local bodies of water like Como Lake might tempt you to lace up the skates for some outdoor shinny, Coquitlam’s manager of parks says it’s unlikely the current cold snap will freeze the ice thick enough to be safe for skating.
Kathleen Reinheimer said city crews are actively monitoring the ice that has started forming on the Coquitlam’s lakes and so far, it’s not thick enough to support animals, let alone people.
“For everyone’s safety, they should stay off the ice,” she said.
Reinheimer said the only time in the last 15 years the ice was thick enough on Como Lake to allow skating was 2016, which she called “an exceptional winter.”
According to Outside Online, ice needs to be at least four inches thick to support the weight of a person, while ice that’s at least eight inches thick should support a car or small pickup truck.
In Ottawa, officials of the National Capital Commission mandate the ice on the 7.8 km Rideau Canal skateway that winds through the heart of the city must be at least 12 inches thick before it’s open to skaters.
Environment Canada is forecasting the cold weather to last into early next week when daytime temperatures will begin creeping about 0 degrees celsius and by Wednesday even overnight temperatures will be right at zero.
