People hit trails, canal as new year's coldest nights give way to sun
Ottawa endured the two coldest nights of 2021 on the weekend, but warmer, sunny days brought out hordes of the winter-hardy to hills, trails, rinks and the Rideau Canal.
Early Sunday morning, the temperature got down to -22 C, but later in the day, with little wind, a bright sun and a tolerable high approaching -10, skaters flocked to an expanded Rideau Canal Skateway, which opened two new sections Sunday morning (including Dow's Lake), bringing the total opened length to about six kilometres.
The National Capital Commission has encouraged area residents to use NCC “assets” closest to their homes and avoid driving great distances to use the world's longest skating rink, which first opened a small stretch on Thursday. It wants the rink to be used mainly in the “densely populated” areas near the canal.
It looked as though that advice was perhaps not being heeded Sunday as side streets in the Glebe were jammed with parked cars and “Local Traffic Only” barriers were popping up along streets near the Fifth Avenue hub. Ottawa's bylaw department was on scene.
Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said January was close to 3.5 degrees warmer than normal — “where's winter been?” — and the total snowfall is about 45 centimetres below average for this time of year.
Temperatures are expected to be above average all this week, with daytime highs in the -5 C to 0 C range.
“I think it's been the perfect pandemic winter,” he said Sunday. “People haven't even had to hibernate. They can get out and about, and go for that walk since Ottawa has so many great recreational areas.”
The multi-use path along the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway was being heavily used Sunday.
“Groomer” Dave Adams, who co-ordinates maintenance on the 16-kilometre tract, said conditions were ideal on the weekend.
“I finally got my winter. I've got sunshine and I've got lots of people.” With the help of five volunteers, the trail is groomed daily, part of an urban alliance of clubs that is now prepping about 80 kilometres of trail in Ottawa — from Kanata to Orléans.
Though there were many people out, Adams said skiers were using common sense to physically distance with walkers and bikers.
For those poorly housed, however, the cold weather represents a new threat, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At Tom Brown Arena, at Scott Street and Bayview Avenue, the City of Ottawa has now expanded operations at a respite centre to seven days a week and is housing the homeless overnight.
Inside, the needy can access food and drink, washrooms, a shower and advice about other social services. The arena pad now contains many tables where clients can be warm and comfortable in a physically distanced manner.
A man named Johnny stopped by Sunday around lunchtime. He said he's been coming to Tom Brown almost every day because he can find a quiet place to read, charge his mobile device and have a moderate amount of privacy.
The pandemic has stressed the city's emergency shelter system, with 75 positive cases reported at one location earlier this month. The fear of rampant infection is so great that the four of the biggest shelters in Ottawa have declared they can no longer take new admissions.