Skating Oval is a Fluke

I am enjoying the HRM Skating Oval on the Commons, but it is a fluke. It works because it is new, it is central, lots of people are using it, it's big, it's outdoors and yes, it's free!

Would I like to see the Oval stay? For sure, if not on the Commons, then in a smaller form in the Grand Parade, or across the street on top of Citadel High School's football field. Imagine skating on an outdoor oval around a football field!

The reality is, this would make it an HRM-planned facility, parking, insurance, multi-use, taxes and yes, user-pay. Would I should up at the current Oval if I had to pay $10. Sure, once or twice a winter. Would I drive out to some location outside the Peninsula. Nope. Most of the people who have written in to this paper have admitted that they love the idea of the Oval...even if they haven't actually been skating on it yet.

Face it, the Skating Oval is a fluke. Enjoy it while it is here (and free!). It will be a memory soon enough.