Affinity Place's walking track is getting some new rules, coming out of Estevan city council's meeting Monday night.

Those are being adopted because of some concerns people had about the safety and the liabilities of being on the track.

The track previously had no stated rule, but due to some of those concerns being shared with councillors a new plan is being put in place.

In their release as part of the meeting, the City stated that their goal for the walking track was "to provide a safe location for the facility users to access the walking track and work in cooperation with all organizations."

Five new procedures will also be put into place for the track in the form of signage:

  1. No equipment allowed (hockey sticks, balls, pucks, pylons, mats, weights, or skipping ropes) except walking poles
  2. Walking and jogging is allowed on track. No sprinting or racing.
  3. No wheels on walking track. Strollers and walkers are allowed.
  4. Proper Footwear is required. No socks or bare feet.
  5. Be mindful on the track of its multiple uses. Patrons and/or Spectators are not always paying attention during games and practices.

"I think this is an important first step, that it really tries to meet all the groups that were there and what their needs are and I want to reassure people that it's not set in stone," said Councillor Kirsten Walliser, "That as we explore this policy and we put it into use, we still want feedback from the community and we can always make tweaks later on."

Some additional information was also given out to minor sport groups in and around Estevan:

  • They must follow all track rules.
  • The walking track will have no access to teams on Mondays and Thursdays from 4-9 pm. These days will be promoted as quiet times for the community to use free from dryland training and additional fitness programming. If a game is scheduled for these days in Affinity, EMHA will be allowed to access the track for the maximum of 15min warm-up only. The City of Estevan will communicate information to the best of our ability to potential walkers on the exception.
  • Limit all pregame warm-up times on track to a maximum of 30mins.
  • All teams must be accompanied by a coach/trainer and/or guardian over the age of 18yrs.
  • No team is allowed in the North ice-level space. Due to the electrical panel and Zamboni room, this area is staff-only and strictly prohibited to members of the public.
  • The MPR can be reserved at an hourly rate of $58/hr if additional dryland time is required.

Not all of the councillors were in agreeance, with Councillor Shelley Veroba saying that the new rules could cause some mix-ups.

"I actually think this is going to be very hard to enforce and track. I think it's going to cause a lot of confusion at the rink. There are definitely people who don't already enjoy young kids playing with hockey sticks or personal mini-sticks or stuff like that. I think this is going to just create some confusion there."

The council then proceeded to move forward with the motion, with all councillors except for Veroba in favour and as such it passed.

This story originally said no sprinting or running was allowed on the track. The actual rule is no sprinting or racing.