City of Red Deer
Collicutt, GH Dawe, and Michener Aquatic Centres to open in mid-July
From the City of Red Deer
City to begin phased reopening of recreation facilities
“We are excited to welcome citizens back to our facilities, but opening them within the new provincial health guidelines and restrictions takes planning, and we have had to make significant adjustments to our operations,” said Shelley Gagnon, Recreation, Parks & Culture Manager. “The experience will look and feel a little different for our residents when these amenities reopen.”
Operating hours at some facilities will be adjusted and access to facilities and programs will be limited and controlled to comply with provincial guidelines. This could include booking time slots to use fitness equipment or designating specific public swimming times, track access and sport activities.
The tentative timeline for amenity openings is as follows:
- June 24 – Community bookings will open for sports fields, picnic shelters and bookable park spaces including Great Chief Park, Setters Place, Bower Ponds Stage. The Lindsay Thurber track and field amenities will also be available for bookings. The City is working with user groups to confirm previous bookings and understand future demand.
- Mid–July:
- Collicutt Centre – Fitness areas, access to the track and use of the field house will be available for controlled, limited access. We also expect to have the pool open, primarily for swimming lessons and public swimming.
- G.H. Dawe Community Centre – We expect to have the pool open, primarily for swimming lessons and public swimming. The gymnasium will open for controlled, limited access. Fitness areas will not open immediately.
- Michener Aquatic Centre – We expect to have the pool available for controlled, limited lane swimming and some aquatic fitness.
- The Recreation Centre will remain closed for the time being. We continue to assess and understand demand for facilities, program and services as part of this phased approach to opening. As previously announced, the outdoor pool will remain closed for the season.
- We are working with our organized user groups and clubs to understand demand as they plan for summer and fall programming. These groups book space in our facilities and we anticipate having space available for their use including ice, dry space and pools, by July 6th.
- We are also excited to offer outdoor fitness programming in early July. More details will be provided soon.
In addition, the following third party-operated facilities have been given permission to reopen while following all provincial health requirements and guidelines. Please contact them directly for operating information:
- River Bend Golf and Recreation Area
- Enduro Mountain Bike Park
- Lions Campground
- Red Deer Tennis Club
- Red Deer Pickleball Club
- Red Deer BMX
- Bower Ponds Pavilion
- Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery
- Kerry Wood Nature Centre
- Norwegian Laft Hus
- Heritage Square
- Cronquist House
- Fort Normandeau
- Neighbourhood Activity Centres
- YMCA Northside Community Centre
- Great West Adventure Park
- Heritage Ranch
- Festival Hall
- Memorial Centre
- Edgar Athletic Fields
“We are still assessing how we can safely open our spray parks, including Kin Canyon, Discovery Canyon and Blue Grass Sod Farm Central Spray and Play, while adhering to public health orders and restrictions,” said Gagnon. “Currently, outdoor gatherings are limited to no more than 100 people, so we’re working to determine how to manage these restrictions while still providing access and will have more information to share in the coming weeks.”
Registration is now open for modified summer day camps which will be held in City facilities in July and August. Visit www.reddeer.ca/daycamps for further information.
As recreation and culture amenities open, The City strongly encourages users to remain vigilant and continue exercising caution to prevent the spread of COVID-19 including washing/sanitizing hands often and staying home when feeling ill. Facility users will be required to follow all public health orders including maintaining physical distancing when possible.
It’s a telling detail about the person who leads Red Deer City Council. Always putting the city’s needs ahead of his own, Mayor Ken Johnston has announced his intentions within days of the opening of Nominations for October’s municipal elections,
After 12 years on council, Mayor Ken Johnston has decided against running for a second term as Mayor this fall. Johnson shared his decision in front of colleagues and supporters in a touching announcement on Wednesday.
At 71 years old, Johnston remains vibrant, passionate and healthy. He says that’s exactly why he and his wife Carolyn have decided now is the right time to start their next stage of life together.
Mayor Johnston listed a number of highlights and achievements he can look back on, including his help advocating for the redevelopment of Red Deer Regional Hospital, the growth of Red Deer Polytechnic, and positive moves in Economic Development.
All these lead of a feeling of ease about the decision to step away, though affordable housing and a permanent shelter for the homeless remain pressing concerns.
With about 8 months remaining in his term, Mayor Johnston is planning to push hard to move the needle on these housing issues.
“We’re looking forward to some more work and we’ll be going to the community shortly about it. So I still have optimism that maybe before the term is out we can have an announcement.”
This is the second major political announcement in Central Alberta in the last number of days. Earlier this week Red Deer Mountain View MP Earl Dreeshen announced he won’t be running in the next federal election.
City of Red Deer
Council ends reduced fine option for early ticket payment, school and playground zones start at 7 AM
City Council approves first reading of updated Traffic Bylaw and General Penalty Bylaw
Red Deer City Council completed first reading of updated Traffic Bylaw (3707/2025) and General Penalties Bylaw (3036/A-2025) that will provide clarity and consistency in application of the bylaws as well as eliminate challenges in enforcement.
Key updates to the bylaws include:
- Ticket Pre-Payment:
- Removing the option to pay a parking ticket early to receive a reduced fee from the General Penalty Bylaw and adding it to the Traffic Bylaw.
- School and Playground Zone Start Times:
- Through investigating requests from schools to have school and playground zones start at 7 a.m., rather than 8 a.m., Administration determined that almost all school and playground zones in the city have students on the street prior to 7:30 a.m. To be consistent across the city, the start time is being moved to 7 a.m. providing an added measure of safety for all students.
- Salt on Sidewalks:
- Removing the provision prohibiting the use of salt on sidewalks as this provision was rarely reported and it is difficult and costly to enforce.
- Permits:
- More structure was added to the bylaw to clearly articulate conditions and requirements of Use of Streets Permits, as well as Excavation Permits and Alignment Permits.
- Lastly, fees for closures impacting on-street and off-street stalls have been adjusted to reflect the actual revenue in each parking zone rather than the flat fee.
- Penalties:
- Penalties have been reviewed and updated.
- During the last bylaw adoption, the penalty associated with vehicles being towed due to snow or street sweeping operations was inadvertently missed. This penalty has been added back in at a slightly higher amount due to an increase in the cost to tow a vehicle through The City’s contractor. This prevents the costs associated with towing vehicles during these operations from being subsidized by the tax base.
“These updates streamline the bylaws to create clarity for residents and administration,” said Erin Stuart, Inspections and Licensing Manager with The City. “They also help to eliminate regulations that are challenging to enforce and bring penalties in line with other City Bylaws.”
Second reading of both bylaws is anticipated for January 27, 2025.
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