Fort Langley residents make final pitch to save only outdoor pool

FORT LANGLEY (NEWS 1130) — At the height of the B.C. heatwave, people living in Fort Langley are hoping the township will scrap its decision to replace the community’s only outdoor pool with a spray park.

Martina Boyd is hoping council will reconsider a June 14 vote that gave the go-ahead to the spray park at Monday’s meeting.

“Overwhelmingly the residents wanted a pool,” she says. “We don’t really have anything in Fort Langley. We don’t have a rec centre. Our library is very small and not really publicly accessible. It’s got very limited hours so there’s really no community spaces here for young people, and for all people. So it’s been a big issue here.”

The existing pool is about 60 years old, and repairing it is out of the question. But staff have not recommended replacing it — despite a public engagement survey showing the majority of residents say the outdoor pool is the main reason they visit the Fort Langley Community Park, and that a pool is the most important priority for the park’s upgrade.

A spray park will cost about $1 million whereas replacing the pool with something larger, and more suitable for a growing population would cost $7.5 million. Replacing the existing pool with something near-identical is not recommended because it is considered too small to accommodate the growing population, and too shallow to allow for a range of activities. Ultimately, staff recommended moving ahead with a splash pad, saying “converting the existing pool into a spray park is the option recommended by staff based on the overall public cost/benefit analysis.”

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But Boyd says the value of the pool can’t be measured in dollars and cents.

“It’s just sad because at the end of the day it’s a public amenity. There doesn’t need to be a business case. We pay taxes to support public amenities that keep our kids active and engaged and busy and healthy and the whole community used it, young and old,” she says.

“It’s really sad that our community is losing this it’s been here for years, and all generations use it. It’s very accessible because we are such a small walkable community.”

Further, she says a spray park only caters to young children, leaving older kids with nowhere to hang out and cool off.

“Once you kind of age out of the playground being your entertainment, there’s nothing really for young people here,” she says.

“Kids can travel there on their own and, and meet their friends and do something healthy, outdoors and productive.”

Bond says the COVID-19 pandemic reminded people about how crucial community spaces are, and the heatwave has shown how important a public pool can be. While plans for other outdoor amenities at the park have not been ruled out, but Bond says those discussions “could take years,” and what residents want is a guarantee that the pool will be replaced.

A petition to ‘Save the Fort Langley Pool’ has gathered thousands of signatures.