Should ice skating be allowed on Grenadier Pond?

High Park's Grenadier Pond remains a favourite destination for ice skaters, hockey players, and families looking to enjoy a clear winter day -- even though the city remains bent on keeping them on solid ground. Despite the thick ice and vast space that keeps skaters coming back, it remains illegal to skate on the pond, with signs reading "No Skating -- No Access" posted around the perimeter.

Many die-hards grew to love the spot in the '80s and '90s -- the city would even keep an oval cleared -- but liability fears led parks department officials to ban the practice. Now, bylaw officers make regular stops to the area, blowing whistles to signal skaters to get off the ice, but little enforcement happens past that. (On one such visit this weekend, the skaters apparently just moving further out into the pond so they could no longer hear the whistle.)

Aficionados argue that they should be allowed to take the risk if they so choose, especially since skaters routinely test the ice thickness before lacing up their skates. What do you think -- should the city permit skating on Grenadier Pond?

Photo by Roger Cullman via the blogTO Flickr pool.