Wet and wild fun returned to the St. Albert region this week as officials turned on the taps at the Morinville and St. Albert splash parks.
Morinville’s splash park reopened to the public on July 10. The Woodlands Water Play Park in St. Albert followed suit the next day.
Both had been closed this summer due to precautions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The splash parks have new rules to address the risks of COVID-19. Guests should come dressed to get wet, as on-site change rooms will be closed, and should stay at least two metres apart on site – that’s the length of a pool noodle, St. Albert recreation and parks spokesperson Meghan Phillips noted in a Facebook video. Visitors should stay home if they’re sick, cough into their sleeve or a tissue while on site, and wash/sanitize their hands before and after using the park. Both sites would be capped at 100 people at once in accordance with provincial guidelines.
Morinville’s splash park wasn’t fenced, but bylaw officers would drop by to monitor distancing and occupancy limits, said town community and infrastructure services general manager Iain Bushell.
“We still need parents to take responsibility and make sure their kids are staying safe,” he said.
In a Facebook video, Phillips said crews would control occupancy at the St. Albert park by waving guests in through a new gate a few metres west of the regular entrance, which would stay closed. They would ask guests to limit their stays to two hours if there was a lineup and to use the showers one person or cohort at a time.
Washrooms were open at the St. Albert park, but closed at the Morinville one. Bushell said the town is keeping public washrooms closed as staffers could not keep them clean enough to meet the province’s pandemic guidelines.
The St. Albert splash park is open 9:45 a.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Morinville’s splash park is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Leisure Centre Monday
Morinville is also set to partially reopen its Leisure Centre on July 13. The arena, kids' zone, change rooms and concession stand are staying shut for now, but the walking/running track, fitness centre, and field house would be back, Bushell said.
“We are asking people to come dressed and ready to work out and shower at home,” he said.
Guests would have to book time slots in advance and bring their own sports equipment, Bushell said. They wouldn’t have to wear masks, but would have to answer health questions by masked staff members on arrival. Some fitness machines and the centre lane of the running track would be closed to ensure physical distancing. Guests should follow the same hand-washing, coughing, and distance regulations that they do at the town’s splash park, and should stay at least three metres apart during vigorous activity.
The centre’s hours would vary considerably during the first two weeks. Instead of being open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily as usual, the centre’s hours for the week of July 13 would be 9 to 5 Monday and Wednesday and 11 to 7 Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. That would switch to 11 to 7 Tuesday and Thursday and 9 to 5 Wednesday, Friday and Saturday the week after, and could change again in future weeks.
Bushell said this is so the centre could offer a variety of workout times as the town retrieves its laid-off workers.
“Hopefully we will be able to return to our normal operating hours as quickly as possible.”
As previously reported, St. Albert’s Servus Place plans to partially reopen as early as July 19 starting with its fitness centre, running track and one indoor turf field.
See stalbert.ca for the status of St. Albert facilities and morinville.ca for those in Morinville.
