The outdoor public skating rink at the City of North Vancouver’s Shipyard Commons was temporarily put on ice over the last week.
The skating rink has been closed intermittently while city crews dealt with some unanticipated ice trouble caused by the recent weather.
“Essentially, with the heavy snow and rain and winds, it impacted the ice surface,” said Stephanie Smiley, spokeswoman for the city.
Photos and videos of the ice rink posted on social media showed areas where snow and ice had fallen off the metal roof on to the skating rink and nearby pedestrian walkways. Melting snow appeared to have pooled and refrozen unevenly in some parts of the rink.
Should be an easy enough fix. It will just take some time & $. pic.twitter.com/51zwdTQmfv
— Mark Teasdale ★ (@MarksGonePublic) January 18, 2020
“Shipyard Commons roof was designed for local climate conditions. The amount of snow that the region recently received is well above average and like everyone else, we weren’t immune to its impact. As a result, accumulated snow on a small portion of the ice and surrounding area had to be removed,” Smiley said.
The 12,000-square-foot outdoor skating rink, which is covered with a retractable roof but exposed to weather on the sides, opened for the first time in mid-December.
On Tuesday, the city closed the rink again, although that was for routine maintenance, Smiley said.
“Because the city’s skate plaza is an outdoor rink, the condition of the ice is weather dependent, and like all outdoor skate rinks, there will be times when weather-related closures are required,” Smiley said.
The skating rink was built by Quay Management Corp. as part of the company’s partnership with the city on development of the Shipyards district.
