Vancouver’s outdoor pool strategy leaves residents high and dry

With growing demand and ongoing dissonance between Vancouver’s Park Board and city council, residents are kicking off another summer with few options for outdoor swimming.

Kitsilano pool opened to the public this weekend after being pushed back yet again due to infrastructure issues. The pool had widespread damage following a king tide event in 2022, and repairs were so extensive that it did not reopen for summer 2024 until August.

Kitsilano is one of only five outdoor pools in Vancouver, with the others being Second Beach, New Brighton, Maple Grove, and the Hillcrest Aquatic Centre. Compared to Toronto, which features over 50 outdoor pools, Vancouver has a notable lack of these spaces.

Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky says while the board has approved several outdoor pools, the city is not funding them.

“Over the years…the Park Board has advocated for a lot of pools; we were meant to have a lot more,” said Basyovanszky. “They [City of Vancouver] are not putting in nearly as much into parks and recreation as they should to keep pace with the demands of the residents.”

Bastyovanszky says the park board has also directed staff to update the 2019 VanSplash Aquatics Strategy, which outlines the city’s priorities for aquatic facilities over the next 25 years. The strategy only has plans for one new outdoor pool at the Marpole Community Centre in Oak Park and a potential renewal at the Hillcrest Aquatic Centre.

In 2022, the Park Board also voted to allocate $11.5 million for the replacement of the Mount Pleasant pool, but city council voted against the plan.

Coun. Mike Klassen says councillors recognize the growing demand for more outdoor pools in the city and he plans to support building more moving forward.

“Vancouverites really want to have outdoor pools and to be able to enjoy that community experience under the sun, in the water, in communities all around our city,” said Klassen. “Lot of things on the horizon, but for now, we’re just going to have to use our cherished pools that are existing right now, such as in New Brighton Park and obviously Kitsilano pool and Second Beach among others.”

Klassen notes South Vancouver in particular is underserved in terms of aquatic facilities.

“These [outdoor pools] take some time to plan and to budget for,” Klassen said. “We are going to be going into a series of new capital budgets over the coming years.”

Despite the lack of incoming facilities, Bastyovansky says this year has seen some improvements in terms of capacity and repairs.

“So, all our pools are open on time or early this year, so there’s a lot more capacity,” said Basyovanszky. “A few of the…acute staffing issues that we were experiencing just after COVID, those haven’t gone away but they have eased a bit.”

As it stands, Vancouverites will be spending another summer with only a handful of outdoor pools to choose from until more work can be done at the municipal level.