BANFF – The Town of Banff has gone on to light the lamp by approving two outdoor skating rinks following earlier public outrage that there may be no outdoor ice in the tourist town this year.
The skating rink at the meadow by the Fenlands recreation centre was expected to open as early as Tuesday (Dec. 14) and council has now approved a rink in the west parking lot of the train station by the Queen’s Willows.
Councillor Kaylee Ram said she believes the train station rink – which should be built by early to mid-January depending on the weather – will be very popular and busy.
“We really heard Banff loud and clear that they want to skate as much as possible, and I think it promotes an all-family activity,” she said during a council meeting Monday (Dec. 13). “Having two rinks and utilizing that space is fabulous.”
The traditional outdoor skating rink at the Banff Community High School field, which has been installed every winter since 2012, is not going ahead this year because of concerns about damage to the turf associated with the rink.
Administration’s pitch for a rink on Bear Street was turned down by council in November, drawing swift rebuke from residents who vented on social media sites and who wrote letter after letter to council expressing disappointment that the townsite would have no downtown outdoor skating rink.
Council then gave administration the go-ahead to build a rink at the Fenlands again this year, plus asked for other potential locations. The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies and Liricon Capital stepped forward.
With concerns over easy water access at the Whyte Museum to be able to flood a surface, administration went with the train station site. Liricon is the leaseholder of the train station and surrounding lands.
“I am happy to support the train station rink. I think it is inclusive, hi-vis, with a great vibe,” said Coun. Barb Pelham, who was one of three councillors who voted against the Bear Street proposal. “I know there was a lot of disappointment when we didn't approve the Bear Street parking lot ice rink. I still stand by that, it was teeny-tiny with no shinny. This is a great one-year solution so thank you Liricon.”
When some councillors were leaning against the train station rink, Coun. Grant Canning convinced them otherwise.
“I think we should move forward with the train station… I certainly learned through this process there’s a lot of demand for outdoor ice skating space,” he said.
“Even with the additional space at the Fenlands, I don’t think one rink is enough, quite frankly.”
Outdoor leisure and shinny ice-skating continues to be a favourite past-time of Banff residents and visitors alike. Along with the Fenlands and train station, there is also a small community rink in Middle Springs.
Since council’s decision to proceed with a skating rink at the Fenlands, administration determined the size could increase from the previously noted size of 12,000 square feet to 16,000 square feet to better support leisure skating and shinny.
For comparison, the high school rink has typically ranged between 17,000 square feet – NHL size – to 20,000 square feet, depending on the year. The Fenlands rink would be open for use from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
As for the rink in the parking lot west of the train station, that is estimated to be about 16,800 square feet. The proposed hours of operation for this rink would be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Warming huts, benches, garbage receptacles and fire pits typically located at the high school rink will be placed at this site.
“Liricon has also expressed interest in funding some additional animation at this site should the rink go ahead,” said Alison Gerrits, the Town of Banff’s director of community services.
Historically the Town of Banff has budgeted $25,500 in labour costs to build and operate the high school outdoor ice-skating rink for a full winter season.
The total budgeted cost to build and maintain an ice-skating rink at the train station parking lot for this season is estimated to be $28,900. This increase is due to some of the amenity requirements and new set-up costs.
The long-standing partnership between the Town of Banff and Canadian Rockies Public Schools (CRPS) has understood that any future skating rink construction is always dependent upon an annual evaluation to determine the effects of the skating rink on the turf field.
Gerrits said CRPS and the Town’s municipal parks staff are hopeful that forgoing a skating rink this winter will help the high school field quality improve by spring 2022.
“At that time, discussions would resume with respect to potential installation of an ice-skating rink for the 22/2023 winter season,” she said.
“It is also important to note that if the anticipated recreation grounds redevelopment schedule goes ahead as planned in 2022, there will also be an additional public ice-skating amenity operational at the recreation grounds for the 2022-23 season.”
