Free Quincy ice skating. Free skate rentals. An early Christmas gift, rink nearly ready
QUINCY − Just to the south of Generals Bridge near the IHOP, plexiglass sideboards skirt a 120-by-60-foot oblong sheet of ice. At the northwest corner stands a large, enclosed tent structure with benches inside for skaters to change boots for blades.
The new seasonal ice skating rink in Quincy's downtown is scheduled to open Friday.
How much will it cost to skate at the new Quincy outdoor rink?
The public can use the rink free of charge. It will remain open through February.
"It's something else for families to do at no cost," Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch said.
Will there be ice skates available to rent?
Rental skates will be available on-site, also for free.
"We want to make sure all residents have access to the opportunity," Commissioner of Natural Resources Dave Murphy said.
Skaters will leave collateral (their own shoes) when they rent skates.
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The rink will be open from noon to 8 p.m. for public skating. Murphy said the city might open the ice before and after those hours, particularly during school vacation.
"But the public can count on noon to 8 p.m.," he said.
Koch said that aside from being fun and family-friendly, the rink will bring economic value to the downtown as visitors go to local restaurants before or after using the ice.
And the ice rink isn't where the fun ends for the holidays in Quincy. Click here for more.
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Will there be food to buy at the rink?
Though there will be no food vendors on hand, menu racks will advertise the offerings of downtown restaurants and food shops, Murphy said.
Depending how many people are lining up to skate, management may phase groups of skaters on and off the ice for a designated period of time. That would ensure that the rink doesn't get overcrowded, Koch said. Between phases, a mini-Zamboni will clean and smooth the ice surface.
Music will be piped in to create the proper holiday ambience for ice skaters, Murphy said.
The temporary skating rink was built and is managed by Ice Rink Events, which operates the rink at New York City's Bryant Park.
The Quincy project cost $200,000, paid out of the District Improvement Financing fund, through which the city pays for downtown improvement projects through future tax growth in the district.
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Directions and parking
The rink is in downtown Quincy on a city-owned parking lot at 100 Parkingway.
There is limited street parking in the busy city center, but there is ample space at the nearby Kilroy Square Garage at 25 Cottage Ave. Rates are $1 an hour for the first six hours on weekdays and $1 an hour for the first 12 hours on weekends.
It is about a five-minute walk from the garage to the rink.
Rink is where Trader Joe's is expected to open
The rink sits on land slated for a large-scale redevelopment project, preliminary plans for which were unveiled in October at a planning board meeting. The mixed-use development would include an eight-story public parking garage, a residential building with 300 apartments and 20,000 square feet of commercial space, including a specialty grocer rumored to be Trader Joe's.
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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Free outdoor skating rink comes to downtown Quincy Dec. 1
