Vancouver city council has unanimously approved additional funding for a new 25-metre pool despite community opposition to shrinking the existing 50-metre pool at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre.
A total of 10 people, including competitive swimmers, voiced their opinions during the standing committee meeting on finance and services on June 18.
In February, staff put forward a $170-million proposal and a new design that would reduce the pool to 25 metres while adding a leisure pool, a large hot tub and dive towers along with other aquatic and recreational amenities.
Councillors needed to approve the park board's request for an extra $22.5 million to complete the VAC renewal plan.
Swimming advocates had asked them to reject the park board's request.
On Wednesday, the mayor and eight councillors voted to approve an increase of $35 million in capital funding for the Vancouver Aquatic Centre project, which will result in a net increase of $22.5 million to the 2023-2026 capital plan.
Coun. Pete Fry stated a conflict of interest as his wife works for the firm that is working on the Vancouver Aquatic Centre.
Coun. Peter Meiszner was absent for the vote.
Decision is ‘dangerous'
Scott Lear is a Vancouver resident and professor at Simon Fraser University in the health sciences faculty and spoke during the meeting. He’s been swimming at VAC and Hillcrest for 20 years.
He opposed the parks board's request for funding, saying no one voted for a lazy river and a 1,300-square foot hot tub. He likened the latter to a three-bedroom townhome.
Lear also believes the project cost is far greater than what Vancouver needs: a 50-metre pool.
“If the recommendation is enacted, it will have negative health well-being impacts,” said Lear.
A 10-year-old swimmer also spoke to council and asked them to think of other ways to keep the pool.
More than 15,688 people signed an online petition calling for a 50-metre pool.
Canadian Dolphin Swim Club head coach Kelly Taitinger said shutting down another pool would be hugely detrimental to the City of Vancouver.
The club has rented space at the pool for nearly 70 years.
“VAC needs to remain open while another pool is being built, not the opposite. Shrinking the size of VAC will only create more crowding, chaos and disgruntled people in other pools,” said Taitinger.
He suggested a temporary pool be built on the Sunset Beach parking lot.
“There is no way that taking away a pool the size of VAC, which is home to over 1,000 user group competitors can be fixed in a few of the other pools around the city,” he added.
Phil Skinder, a resident of Vancouver, along with the director and head coach of Pacific Lifesaving Club, urged council not to approve the funding.
He said they rent space from three of the pools in the city and he has waiting lists with people constantly contacting him for lessons.
Children getting into swimming lessons is at a "crisis" level, according to Skinder, with many turned away.
"Drowning remains one of the leading causes of death in children,” he said. “Swimming is not a luxury. It’s a life skill.”
Skinder questioned why $175 million is being spent on a destination pool that won’t meet the residents' needs.
“Taking VAC offline now is not only short-sighted, it’s dangerous,” said Skinder.
Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung asked how much has been spent to date and would it be sunk costs if council did not proceed. Staff confirmed $4.3 million has been spent on the project to date; if it was delayed, costs would go up.
Coun. Lucy Maloney asked what the plan is if VAC gets closed.
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation general manager Steve Jackson said the pool does provide space for a number of competitive swim teams.
“We are looking to accommodate them at Hillcrest,” he said. “We’ve received direction from our board to explore a 50-metre pool in south Vancouver."
Jackson added that programs at Hillcrest could be moved to other sites and swim teams could swim in the 50-metre pool.
Pool nearing the end of lifespan
The pool was built in 1974 and in 2019, it was nearing the end of its functional lifespan with a high priority for renewal. VAC, located on Beach Avenue, serves both West End and downtown Vancouver residents as well as the surrounding region as a swim and dive training facility.
According to a March 21 report, the analysis demonstrates that it is not feasible to deliver a 50-metre training pool within the existing building footprint that meets minimum aquatic industry standards.
Staff reviewed the 2023-2026 capital plan and said there are limited projects with available funding that could be deprioritized to reallocate the budget needed to advance this alternative option.
Under the new plan with the reduced lane pool, the hot tub would be expanded from the current nine square metres to 125 square metres.
