Temperatures below zero may have some residents itching to go for a skate, but there are a few places in Okotoks where it is not allowed.

Those places are storm ponds which are dangerous to walk on even though they may look frozen over.

Okotoks Deputy Fire Chief Pat MacIsaac says the department has never responded to an individual falling into a pond, and they'd like to keep it that way.

"They're not like little lakes or ponds, they've got water moving through them and they're designed a bit differently. The ice thickness is very variable and the last thing we want is for anybody to go through the ice, or suffer an emergency because the ice isn't thick enough, it can be very deceiving."

MacIsaac says if residents see people playing on frozen over storm ponds, they should ask those on the ice to get off before they call enforcement services.

"The best thing to do is tell them what they're doing isn't safe and ask them to leave the storm pond and get off the storm pond. If they think it's a danger they should call Municipal Enforcement and have them attend."

He adds while storm ponds may be tempting, its not worth the risk as the Town has many safe places to skate set up during the winter.

"People want to get out and skate, but certainly the Crystal Shores lake has a rink and the town puts rinks all over the community for people to use, but the storm ponds are not safe for people to be on in the winter."

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