The August long weekend had thousands of Calgarians taking to the city’s waterways for a float down the rivers. For some rafters, a fun day in the sun turned into an expensive lesson on water safety.
Fire, police and bylaw officers were out in force today along the Bow and Elbow rivers.
Bylaw officers spent the first few weeks of summer educating rafters about water safety and essential safety equipment. Now, they're working on a zero tolerance enforcement program.
Saturday was a picture perfect day to float the Bow or Elbow rivers. Many rafters were playing by the rules, taking to the water with life jackets, paddles, a bailing bucket, whistle and a throw rope.
“We certainly hope people are getting the message, but again a little repetition never hurts,” says Acting Batt. Chief Randy Yeats. “We often have newcomers, people who are new to the river and don't understand some of our issues here.”
The Sandy Beach parking area is transformed into a rafting staging area on days like this. Calgary police and bylaw officers are greeting rafters to ensure everyone knows the rules of the water.
“I think it's good that they're trying to make sure everything's safe,” says Allison Clark and Katherine Phillips. “I think it's good that they're trying to inform people.”
“It's time for enforcement, and that's when we make the decision that if people aren't wearing the life jackets that they've been warned to wear numerous times, than they will be getting violation tickets, which is a mandatory court appearance,” explains Susan Wall of Calgary Bylaw.
Last week about a dozen tickets were handed out to people not wearing life jackets and almost 20 tickets written for people floating with alcohol.
The maximum fine that a judge can issue for not wearing a personal flotation device is $500.
