Outdoor skating returns to Lawrence Field

NORTH CANAAN — There’s outdoor ice skating again at the Lawrence Field Pavilion in the center of town.

Winter recreation has come full circle there, with changing municipal liability laws. When the pavilion was built in the mid-1990s, its design included curbing and drains around the open paved space to allow it to be flooded for skating.

Soon after that, the town attorney advised that the liability risk had increased. So the town stopped flooding the field and skating was stopped — until this winter, when towns were given a break by the Legislature.

Of course, there are posted signs stating that skating can cause injury and the town is not responsible, as well as a list of rules that requires skaters to wear helmets and forbids them from bringing glass bottles on the ice, playing hockey or using drugs, alcohol or tobacco.

The rink has had moderate use so far, with families saying they’re glad it’s easy to get to — and that they don’t have to worry about falling through the ice.

The Board of Selectmen is also looking into another seasonal rink that could be built next year by the municipal parking lot. The town owns a strip of land beyond the new lot behind the Railroad Street businesses, between Camp Brook and Foote Avenue.

It also has portable lighting from The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, donated years ago when the school upgraded one of its sports fields. The plan was to use it as a Little League field, until it was discovered it did not meet league requirements.

The pavilion is open for skating from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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