Winter Rink Stairs: No more slipping

new stairs

After the blocking of the community- built rink stairs in December 2006, a rink staffer suggested a simple solution of opening a gate through the chain-link and providing a level access. But when the Parks construction crew came to build the access to the new gate, they laid out another inclined path! That started another round of phone calls and e-mails. See Winter Rink Stairs.

No community stairs

second
destruction
by the city

Soon after Dufferin Rink was rebuilt in 1993, people started asking the city to make an access that was not as slippery as the existing slanted path. But year after year the answer was "no funds." So in August 2006, some rink users bought a stair set at Home Depot and installed it. Suddenly three months later, a barrier was put up. See Stairs For Winter.

Access restricted

deep mud ruts

When the zamboni is driven off the flying-squad trailer where it parks near Dufferin Rink, it no longer has to cross a mud track to get to the rink. In October 2006, after many years of waiting, the north section of the park thoroughfare was paved. See Road Access To Paved Path By Rink.

Players' box mistake

platform
instead of bench

When Wallace Rink was rebuilt in 2006, plans called for the players' boxes to be nailed shut and for players to sit on an open bench between the hockey pad and the pleasure-skating pad (see Wallace Players Box Nailed Shut). It never worked, and the City tried to fix the mistake by adding a long wooden platform. But that made the long integral bench useless. Now the question is -- can this mistake be fixed or is it there forever? See Wallace Rink Integral Bench.

Zamboni path needed

gap to sidewalk

Zambonis are often brought to Dufferin Rink, or borrowed from there for other rinks. For more than a dozen years, that meant the zamboni had to drive through deep mud ruts. Then at last in 2006, the Parks manager set aside funds to pave the access route. But the progress of this project was not smooth. See Zamboni Trail Pavement Required.