Montreal Spending $7.3 Million To Refrigerate, Cover Ice Rinks
The City of Montreal is launching a new program to save outdoor ice skating rinks from climate change. According to documents from the city, it's getting harder and harder for Montrealers to strap on their skates and get ice time at their local rink because mild winters make maintenance a challenge.
That's why the city is putting $7.3 million into a program to help improve the quality of ice at municipal rinks and ensure they're open for longer periods of time.
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The city believes adding more refrigerated and covered rinks will cut down on the maintenance load of borough workers. That should allow the workers to spend more time maintaining the ice quality of other neighbouring outdoor rinks. In 2016, only eight of the 262 outdoor rinks in operation across the city were refrigerated.
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Last winter, most rinks in Montreal were only about to open in late January because of mild weather. With more refrigerated rinks the city hopes to extend the skating season from approximately Dec. 15 to March 15.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/skating-rink-montreal-climate-change-1.3839058