Thursday marked the beginning of an ambitious and controversial Vancouver Park Board aquatic strategy that’s more than 15 years in the making.
Park commissioners and staff convened on Kits Pool to announce plans for a “pop-up pool” that will be situated in an as-yet-determined neighbourhood by next spring.
Pop-up pools are essentially containers filled with water that can be built either above or below ground. Staff are investigating a number of options around the size and capacity of the incoming pool, with options ranging between a few dozen swimmers to several hundred. Park board chair Sara Kirby-Yung said she prefers the pool to be both practical and multi-faceted, allowing people to swim laps or simply cool off.
The pool is part of a larger feedback strategy being undertaken by the park board called VanSplash. The plan aims to identify areas that lack aquatic infrastructure — particularly in East and South Vancouver — and determine ways to fill those gaps.
“This strategy will be the most comprehensive aquatic strategy and review that has been undertaken in over 15 years,” said Kirby-Yung.
The board chair described a pop-up pool as being “far less expensive” that an in-ground pool, and staff estimate the infrastructure could cost $1- to $2-million. Some of the drivers that influence those costs include drainage, electrical access, connectivity to washrooms and change rooms, and the need for surrounding amenities.
Park board manager of research and planning Dave Hutch said pop-up pools have a shorter shelf life — in the range of five to 10 years — than traditional pools and can be moved or re-purposed in some cases.
Kirby-Yung is hopeful to have at least two to five more pieces of aquatic infrastructure added to the city’s inventory within the next few years. She suggested Vancouver is sorely lacking in outdoor pool infrastructure when compared to other Canadian cities, and the numbers seem to back that claim up.
Montreal — population 3,824,211 — has 74 outdoor pools
Toronto — population 2,791,140 — has 57 outdoor pools
Winnipeg —population 699,346 — has 10 outdoor pools
Ottawa — population 856,650 —has nine outdoor pools
Calgary — population 1,195,194 — has seven outdoor pools
Edmonton — population 835,000 — has five outdoor pools
By comparison, Vancouver and its population of 680,000 residents has three outdoor pools.
“Delivering outdoor pools is no easy task — they require capital funding, they require planning and lead time and they’re expensive,” Kirby-Yung said. “This park board is exploring innovative ways on how we can deliver, in a timely fashion and over the long term, aquatic services for Vancouver. We’re looking a lot of possibilities.”
Details around the pop-up pool and further other information will be forthcoming from staff at the park board meeting slated for Monday, July 25. A full report will come back to the board next summer with recommendations around implementation and next steps.
In the meantime, park board officials will hold two public feedback sessions on Saturday, July 23 and Sunday, July 24 at Kits and New Brighton pools respectively.
— with files from Megan Stewart
@JohnKurucz
