Outdoor skate trail proposed for LaSalle waterfront

Proposed outdoor skating trail in LaSalle, Ont. (Courtesy Town of Lasalle)

Skating along an outdoor trail on LaSalle’s waterfront could be a possibility, if approved by LaSalle council.

A report is going to council on April 25. It asks council to approve a concept for an outdoor skate trail and water feature within LaSalle Landing.

“I am very excited about it,” LaSalle mayor Crystal Meloche tells CTV News. “We are looking to provide our residents with family friendly activities and who doesn’t love the opportunity for outdoor skating during the winter months. We want LaSalle Landing to offer several different activities to our residents and this would be a great addition.”

The trail is proposed near the event centre within the nearly $50-million LaSalle Landing waterfront project, bringing together the current Gil Maure Park, Front Road Park and Riverdance Park into one 60-acre site along the Detroit River at Front Road.

Administration had considered a synthetic ice surface for the skate trail and had three temporary artificial ice setups for the public to try.

Deputy CAO Peter Marra tells AM800 News the are recommending a natural ice surface for the skate trail, after administration had three temporary artificial ice setups for the public to try.

"Those artificial trials did not produce sufficient enough approval from the public for using that particular product," he says.

The report suggests there are risks with a natural ice outdoor skate trail because of unpredictable winter weather patterns, but officials estimate that the trail will be usable from December to the end of February.

Marra says the skate trail would have an ice plant to help maintain the natural ice, as long as there's cooler weather.

The recreational trail would be around half a kilometre in length and about six or seevn metres wide..

"You will be able to enjoy linear-style skating as opposed to constantly going around in circles. There's going to be some good areas to go through long stretches, if you want to turn off and don't want to go through certain areas, there's some cut throughs along the way," he says.

It would have benches surrounding a circle with ground orientated water jets. A potential warming area, with fire pits, and a place for people to put on skates and rest on a bench is also in the plan.

Meloche says they don't have a pricetag for the project yet.

"We need council to approve the idea in concept and then we will get final drawings and costs associated. We do have roughly $8 million in reserves to complete this stage of the waterfront development," she says.

The report is asking council to approve the proposed sponsorship of the water feature from the Rotary Club of LaSalle-Centennial in the amount of $132,000 and authorizes administration to enter into an agreement with the Rotary Club of LaSalle-Centennial.

As Meloche mentioned, the report says a total of $8-million is available in the waterfront reserve build-up set aside for the construction of the entire skate trail/water feature. There is also $1-million available for the associated parking needs of this area.

A proposed sponsorship strategy is recommended for the skate trail, plaza area and LaSalle sign features, as well as for the remaining aspects to be built at the waterfront.