Kitsilano Pool will reopen this summer, Vancouver mayor says

Swimmers’ hearts were broken earlier this year when the Vancouver Park Board announced the much-beloved Kitsilano Pool would not reopen this summer due to major damage sustained during a 2022 storm.

However, there may be hope after all, as the City of Vancouver announced Friday that Kits Pool will be repaired and will reopen to the public on Aug. 7, “pending any unforeseen challenges.”

Mayor Ken Sim said the closing of the pool was a “disappointment shared by the entire city.”

“But we didn’t give up. We knew we couldn’t lose this beloved asset, and thanks to the hard work of our City staff, Scott Construction, and expert Jeff Stibbard, we’re ensuring that Kits Pool will continue to thrive as a vibrant community hub,” he shared.

Sim explained repairs have begun to extend the pool’s life by another two years, while plans for a new facility get underway.

“Every Vancouverite has a memory from Kits Pool,” Sim said. “It’s where many of us learned to swim, where we met up with friends on sunny days, and where families enjoyed summer vacations. As one of the most iconic pools in Canada, our Council is dedicated to ensuring it remains a centerpiece of our city while we move forward with plans for a new facility.”

Despite the optimism, the mayor stresses the August reopening is “pending no major setbacks.”

Kitsilano Pool first opened in 1931 and was replaced with its current design in 1978.

The Park Board had previously shared that the pool was so badly damaged by 2022 king tides, it would leak 30,000 litres an hour due to cracks in its recirculation pipes.

“At the time, we had no option but to close it,” Sim said Friday.

It’s unclear what exactly changed to speed up the timeline of repairs. However, the mayor says the city’s “no-quit, can-do attitude” led the way, with officials reaching out to experts with more insight.

“What we do is we look for experts out there that have technical expertise that we may not have, or how they see a problem a little bit differently. And if they can do that, then it opens up a whole world of possibilities, and that’s what’s happened here,” Sim said.

According to a manager with the city’s capital maintenance department, crews looked at “some of the critical repairs that were required just to get the pool open.”

“So not to say that we’re just getting by with minimal amounts of work — we’re getting the critical stuff done, followed closely in the near future with some of the other repairs that may need to be done as well,” they said.

“We have three processes underway. So we have the immediate fix. We also have looked at a longer-term solution to add investment into the maintenance of this facility, and then the third process is looking at the renewal and replacement. So through last month’s midterm updated request to council for capital funding realignment, $5 million has been identified as the ask — $2 million is for the planning for the future, for the replacement of this pool, and $3 million is to cover the costs of not only the short-term solutions, but a pool liner and considerations like that that will extend the lifespan of this facility,” explained Steve Kellock, director of recreation, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.