Red Deer Playgrounds opening with these guidelines

From the City of Red Deer

Phased reopening of playgrounds starts today

The City of Red Deer has begun a to reopen playgrounds with a phased approach between now and May 29, 2020.“We know the closure of playgrounds has been difficult for some families with young children. We are re-opening playgrounds and fitness parks while continuing to align with recommendations from the Chief Medical Officer of Health, but caution the public that these structures are high touch and high contact surfaces,” said Karen Mann, Emergency Operations Centre Director.A phased approach is necessary to ensure maintenance and inspections are completed in advance of reopening any playground or outdoor fitness structures. New signage and removal of caution tape will signal citizens as to when respective playgrounds are officially open. Crews will work in the north and south simultaneously to open playgrounds as quickly as possible across the entire city.Citizens are asked to refrain from using playground or outdoor fitness structures until crews remove the closed signs and caution tape.

Although playground reopenings are happening in alignment with all public health orders and restrictions, citizens are still encouraged to exercise caution and do what is necessary to continue to help prevent spread of COVID-19.

Equipment will be inspected prior to opening. The City is not washing or sanitizing structures and families are encouraged to bring their own hand sanitizer to the park with them, limit contact with others, and visit playgrounds within their own neighbourhoods.

Users are reminded of and must follow public health guidelines including:

Maintaining 2 metre physical distance;
Gathering in groups of 50 or fewer;
Only sharing common equipment with members of the same family or cohort;
Staying home if you feel sick;
Washing and sanitizing your hands before and after using these areas.

“Due to the diligence and commitment of our residents throughout this pandemic to complying with all orders and recommendations from health officials, we are now in a position to begin re-opening a number of our amenities in a phased manner,” says Mann, “While we are as pleased as you are to see playgrounds and fitness parks starting to re-open, we know it will take the continued support of all residents to keep each other safe and healthy through this relaunch.”

Residents can call the City’s call centre at 403-342-8111 if they have questions regarding the playground reopening or any City services. More information on the City’s response to COVID-19 can be found at www.reddeer.ca/COVID.

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After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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City of Red Deer

Holiday residential cart collection schedules

Published on December 17, 2020

Todayville

From the City of Red Deer

Cart collection schedules have been adjusted for residents with Friday cart collection to accommodate the Christmas Day and New Year’s Day statutory holidays, which both fall on a Friday this year.

Residents with regular Friday collection will have their December 25 and January 1 cart collection rescheduled as follows:

Lancaster Green, Lancaster Meadows, Laredo, and Lonsdale will be moved to the following Monday.
Davenport, Deer Park Estates, Deer Park Village and Devonshire will be moved to the following Tuesday.
Rosedale Estates, Rosedale Meadows, Vanier East and Vanier Woods will be moved to the following Wednesday.

Collection schedules will return to normal on Friday, January 8, 2020. See Holiday Cart Collection Schedule (pdf) for further details.

Residents with a collection day other than Friday will have no collection changes over the holidays.

Questions? Contact The City by calling The Blue Line at 403-340-BLUE (2583) or visiting www.reddeer.ca/carts .

Other reminders:

Carts must be set out before 7 a.m. for pickup
Wrapping paper, tissue paper and Styrofoam are not accepted in Blue Carts, as The City’s recycling program is currently unable to process these materials.
Large quantities of cooking fat, oil and grease are not accepted in the Green Cart, as large quantities do not break down in the composting process.
For reminders of what carts to place out when, sign up for notifications with Notify Red Deer, sign up today at www.reddeer.ca/notifyreddeer

City of Red Deer

Face coverings now mandatory in Red Deer for all indoor public spaces and pubic vehicles

Published on November 24, 2020

Duane Rolheiser

From the City of Red Deer

City Council passes temporary mandatory face covering bylaw in Red Deer

Face coverings are temporarily mandatory in Red Deer after City Council approved a bylaw today, mandating face coverings for indoor public places and public vehicles.

The bylaw will officially come into effect on November 30, 2020; however, The City strongly encourages citizens to wear a face covering in accordance with the bylaw starting today.

The decision to proceed with a short-term face covering bylaw came after in-depth discussions on the topic over the past few weeks and during last week’s Special City Council Meeting. During this meeting, a number of amendments were considered by City Council, triggering the need for the third reading at today’s regular City Council meeting.

“Mandating temporary face coverings in Red Deer is a short-term measure to be responsive to the evolving pandemic in Red Deer and across the province. We know this is a divisive issue in our community, and although the Province has yet to mandate masks across Alberta, City Council believes this temporary measure is critical if we want local case numbers and hospitalization to remain flat,” said Mayor Tara Veer. “Through this bylaw, we are putting into action, the recommendations of health officials because the safety, health and wellbeing of all citizens continues to be our number one priority.”

At this time, the bylaw has a sunset clause of March 1, 2021, and will expire on this date.

The bylaw mandates all citizens must wear a face covering in indoor public places and public vehicles with the exceptions noted in the bylaw. This includes any place, whether publicly or privately owned, where members of the public have access as of right or by implied invitation.

The bylaw does not apply to several groups including children under nine, those who are disabled, and anyone eating/drinking, or engaging in heavy labour or physical fitness activities. It applies to passengers in public vehicles, like taxis or rides for hire, but not to drivers where there is a barrier installed in the vehicle. Businesses affected by the bylaw are required to display signage.

The fine for not wearing a face covering in a public place is $50.

“This decision is about protecting public health and safety, protecting our health care system, and doing whatever we can to help stabilize the local economy and prevent potential future lockdowns that could result in further business impacts and closures,” said Mayor Veer. “We are all feeling the pressures of COVID-19; citizens, businesses and Albertans alike are significantly affected. The City will continue to do everything we can to support our local citizens and businesses by putting measures in place that could minimize the spread of COVID-19.”

A mandatory face covering bylaw is just one of the municipal measures being taken to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Red Deer. The City also continues to adapt its many operations to be responsive to the changing circumstances, increase communication with citizens and businesses and to continue to seek information and support through the Province of Alberta.

Red Deer is now one of approximately nineteen other Alberta municipalities, including Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge, to have a mandatory face covering bylaw in place.

For more information about the new bylaw and other COVID-19 restrictions, please read our Face Coverings in Public Places (Mandatory Mask) Bylaw FAQ (pdf) or visit www.reddeer.ca.