Rideau Canal skateway open for 1st time this season
Ottawa Public Health continues frostbite warning as it feels like -30 C with the windchill
CBC News
Posted: Jan 17, 2013 9:32 PM ET
Last Updated: Jan 18, 2013 11:42 AM ET
Ottawa's biggest winter attraction and the world's largest outdoor skating rink has opened for the first time this season.
Cold temperatures have thickened the ice to the 30 centimetres required to make the Rideau Canal skateway safe, according to the National Capital Commission.
Officials have opened a 2.2-km stretch of the canal from the Pretoria Bridge to the Bank Street Bridge.
The NCC could open more of the 7.8-km skateway soon with continued cold temperatures.
Ottawa Public Health is warning those who head to the Canal, or who head outside Friday, as a frostbite warning remains in effect.
The temperature could feel like -30 C with the windchill at times.
The opening is well timed, too, as all public schools in Ottawa are closed due to a scheduled professional development day. This is the second Friday in a row where Ottawa's public schools have closed after a potential walkout shut the schools on Jan. 11.
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