Work is now getting underway on the outdoor skating rink that is being installed in Riverside Park.

City staff say construction officially started on Monday, March 10. Project Delivery Manager Adam Gordon says work will be noticeable for park goers, but the hope is to minimize the impact as much as possible.

“Setting up the sites surrounding the work area, as well as getting started on some of the site removals. So that’s the top layer surface that needs to come off. From there, we’ll be taking on a couple key activities. We’ll be building some shallow utilities that we need for the site. We’ll be starting work for the new Zamboni building, which is going to house the ice resurfacer. And then, most importantly, we’re going to be getting going on the refrigerated slap, which will be the bulk of the project.”

“It’s certainly going to be a project that is very present for the work that’ll be taking place. However, we’ve designed the site in such a way that we’re hoping to minimize disruptions to park goers, you’ll still be able to take all the same trail connections you could through Riverside trail and onwards. The whole playground, as well as the whole spray park, will be maintained open throughout the summer. What you’ll see is potentially just a small reduction in size in the area that overlooks the band shell, some small portion of that closer to where we’re working is going to be fenced off, but still, lots of event space for park goers facing the band shell as well.”

Gordon says it will ensure proper accommodations are made during larger events such as Canada Day. “Notably, the project will be going on Monday to Friday, so there won’t be any disruption, even noise wise, to weekend events.”

The rink is intended for community, non-programmed drop-in skating, the Riverside Park outdoor skating facility will be free to the public and open annually from December to March. The facility will support winter event hosting opportunities, such as winter festivals, live music, food vendors, seasonal celebrations, park enhancements, and decorations, and will include an opportunity for skate rentals.

During the summer, the unfrozen concrete pad will be available for staging food trucks and other recreational activities. The looped pathway will also improve park accessibility for those with mobility challenges.

The facility is expected to be complete and ready for use in early 2026  “If we can, we’d love to be open for November and to be open for the Christmas break,” Gordon said. “We just need to make sure that our schedule is realistic as well.”

The project is fully funded by a $7.16 million grant from the Province’s Growing Communities Fund.

Council first approved the project in April 2023 to introduce new recreation opportunities to the City’s downtown core and increase Riverside Park’s use during winter, a recommendation from the City’s 2013 Parks Plan.

“The work will be pretty gradual throughout,” says Gordon. “In the next couple of weeks, you will see a lot of earth movement taking place. Closer to the summer, you’ll start to see our real surface come together.”

“The biggest single day we’re going to have is where we need to pour the concrete for that refrigerated slab. It’s about 280 cubic meters over a pretty wide area. And so if you can imagine, one concrete truck carries just seven cubic meters, that’s going to be a lot of concrete trucks visiting the park in a single day. So we’ll provide a bit of a larger notice on when that’s taking place as that date approaches. But other than the pour day, it’s just going to be kind of gradual work that you’ll get to see evolve over time.”