City council will consider reopening CN Centre for indoor walking this winter, after Mayor Lyn Hall received a request from the Prince George Council of Seniors.
On Monday, city council requested city staff bring back a report by Oct. 5 on what reopening CN Centre for walking would cost, and what the logistics of opening it during the COVID-19 pandemic would look like.
"The concerns from the Council of Seniors were about October," when snow and ice make sidewalks slippery, Hall said.
Normally four indoor walking options are available to residents: CN Centre, Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, the Northern Sports Centre at UNBC and Pine Centre Mall, city director of community services and public safety Adam Davey wrote in a report to council. CN Centre was one of the civic facilities closed in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In previous years, CN Centre and Rolling Mix Concrete Arena opened for public walking in mid-October.
"Because there are two alternative options available in Prince George (NSC and Pine Centre Mall), administration does not recommend providing an indoor walking service at this time due to the overall budget shortfall," Davey wrote. "Staff require approximately four weeks to prepare an indoor walking service. Therefore, to accommodate a mid-October opening, administration would require direction by mid-September to build and staff a cleaning protocol and expand the online registration tool used at the Aquatic Centre to book (free) online walking registrants."
The CN Centre concourse area would be limited to 50 walkers, who would have to pre-register, he added. Of the city's two indoor walking facilities, reopening CN Centre makes more sense and "should the CN Centre reopen for ice usage, supplying indoor walking would be relatively easy to accommodate."
Coun. Garth Frizzell – who chairs the city's finance and audit committee – said the city continues to face a serious financial shortfall this year, and reopening more services will deepen that shortfall.
"We're making a decision that is for the betterment of the community, but there is a cost," he said. "We chose not to reopen many of our facilities, because of the financial challenges we're facing. They are incredibly expensive (to operate)."
Providing indoor walking spaces in the winter is important, particularly for seniors, Coun. Murry Krause said.
"Seniors become virtual prisoners in their own home in the winter time," he said. "It really is about health and wellbeing."
A fall on icy sidewalks can break bones at any age, Coun. Terri McConnachie said.
"I do think it's an essential program in the winter," she said.
McConnachie also asked residents using the city's public facilities – the recently-reopened Kin Centres and the Prince George Aquatic Centre opening on Sept. 8 – to be understanding that the new safety rules in place are for their protection.
"(This is) just an appeal to people to follow the rules and not give our staff a hard time," McConnachie said. "That's how we can keep them open."
