City of Windsor announces gradual reopening of services. Here's what to expect

The City of Windsor announced which services residents can expect to see in the coming weeks and months, as Ontario prepares to enter Stage 3 of its reopening plan Friday.

Mayor Drew Dilkenswas joinedby the city's acting commissioner ofcommunity services, Ray Mensour, the commissioner for legal and legislative services, Shelby Askin Hager, and Windsor Fire & Rescue Services Chief Stephen Laforet to give a virtual update Wednesday morning.

While officials cautionedtheir reopening plan would begradual, residents can expect to see more services available to them in the coming days and weeks. Here's a look:

City hall will continue appointment-based services at the350 and 400 City Hall Square buildings, and Hager said this is the most efficient and safest way for residents to access services at the sites.

The Parks and Recreation main office located at 2450 McDougall St.will open, but officials still recommend making an appointment.

WFCUCentre and ice rentals

The WFCU Centre will officially close as a mass vaccination site on July 31, so itcan return to more normal operations this summer and prepare for hockey in the fall.Ice will be available on all community rinks beginningSept.7 and the main ice will be available for the Spitfires' training camp.

Ice will also be available at theCapri Pizzeria Recreation Complex at at least one rink on Sept. 7, withsecond pad availability on Sept. 20.

Ice will also be available at theForest GladeCommunity Centreas of July 24and at theAdie Knox Herman Arena on Sept. 7

Gyms and other rentals at the Capri rec centre will resume July 19, and slowly expand to other facilities.

Swimming and aquatics

Programs at theWindsor International Aquatic and Training Centre and WFCU Centre will restart onSept.13,after outdoor pools and beaches close for the summer on Sept.5.

Adventure Bay Family Water Park will remain closed until the fall. Officials say a shortage of lifeguards ispreventing reopening.

Officials say capacity limits do make it difficult to offer full recreation programs at any of the city sites, butmost activities will be registration-based.

For a full list of city services that are returning, click here.

Ontario enters Stage 3 on Friday

Last week, the Ontario government announced the provinceis moving to Step 3 of its reopening plan on July 16, five days earlier than planned, allowingfor larger indoor and outdoor gatherings:up to 100 people outdoors, and up to 25 people inside.

Indoor sports and recreational fitness facilities, includinggyms, would be able to open again at 50 per cent capacity or a maximum of 1,000 people, whichever is less.

Indoordining, retail and personal care would have no capacity limits as long as patrons can properlyphysically distance.

Religious services and events such asweddings and funerals willalso be able to operate indoors, as long as people are following other public health measures.

Places such as museums, aquariums, casinos and bingo hallscan run at 50 per cent capacity indoorsand 75 per cent outdoors. Cinemas will also be allowed to open under the same restrictions(the sale of popcorn and other food will be allowed).

The move also allows for concerts, theatres and sports facilitiesto operate at 50 per cent capacity inside, with a max of 1,000 people. If outside, they can run at75 per cent capacity with a max of 5,000 people for unseated events and 15,000 people for events with fixed seating.

Nightclubs will be allowed to reopen, with a maximum of 250 people or 25 per cent capacity. The province says patrons are exempt fromphysical distancing requirementswhen dancing, butface coverings must also be worn, and businesses mustrecord the name andcontact information of every patron.

For a full list of what restrictions will change in Step 3, clickhere.