You’re being encouraged to be cautious around bodies of water in the Stratford area.
City officials say that while there may be a temptation to lace up the skates and clear off a section of the Avon River for a game of hockey, it can be very dangerous.
They say an ice thickness of 20 centimeters is considered safe to skate on and it typically takes several weeks of sustained below-freezing temperatures for ice on the Avon to reach that thickness.
Open water is unpredictable and is never truly safe due to a number of reasons including the deeper the water is, the less ice is formed.
The city adds that Stratford’s stormwater management ponds, including the one near the corner of McCarthy Road and Fairfield Drive, are not meant for recreational use
For those who want to safely skate outside, the skating rink created for this past weekend’s Winterfest in Lower Queen’s Park will remain in place, along with the benches.
