As Vancouverites flock to outdoor pools this weekend, many may be surprised to find out that online reservations were completely sold out Saturday and Sunday.
CityNews caught up with some of those looking to beat the heat at the city’s Second Beach Pool, where hundreds of people were taking advantage of the weather.
Mehdi was out enjoying the pool with his family.
“It’s really nice. My daughter loves the the slides, she really enjoys the slides,” he said. “The water’s nice and clean, and the sunshine, the summer — can’t go wrong with it.”
However, he also expressed frustration with all online reservations for outdoor facilities being sold out online.
“Everything seems to be that way, like swimming pools or the classes at community centers for kids,” he said
“Actually, it’s hard to get into swimming … like all year round, for kids, it’s a big challenge.
Mehdi says he isn’t the only one who finds this to be a challenge.
“For parents, like every parent I talk to, they’re like, oh, it’s a nightmare.”
Another man said he is happy he and his family were prepared for the crowds.
“I’m really glad my wife bought a ticket ahead of time, so we’re not in the non-ticket lineup. The lineup’s really long,” he said.
People have also taken to social media to express their dissapointmet and frustration with the lack of outdoor pool space. One user on the r/vancouver Reddit page said it was absolutely insane how few outdoor pools Vancouver has.
Park board advocating for more pools around Vancouver
Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky says the park board has been advocating for more pools for some time now.
“We’ve put in requests for funding for a number of pools to council,” he said. “In fact, the park board has approved additional outdoor pools, and we’re waiting for funding from Council. That type of capital investment is very squarely with the city.”
On Friday, the city announced one of its pools, Kitsilano, which is under repairs from a king tide event in 2022, should reopen this August, pending any unforeseen challenges. Other outdoor pools around the city include Second Beach, New Brighton, and Maple Grove pools, as well as the Hillcrest Aquatic Centre.
Bastyovanszky points out there are other places to go to cool down, including splash pads, cooling centers, indoor pools, and beaches.
More people are expected to flock to outdoor pools with the city still dealing with a heatwave.
Outdoor pools around the region
In addition to Vancouver’s pools, there are other municipalities in the Lower Mainland with these facilities.
New Westminster has two outdoor pools: Moody Park Pool and Hume Park Pool. As well, the city has a wading pool in Grimston Park.
Burnaby has four: Central Park Outdoor Pool, Kensington Outdoor Pool, MacPherson Park Outdoor Pool, Robert Burnaby Outdoor Pool. The city also has a number of wading pools and spray parks.
Coquitlam has one outdoor pool with another coming soon: Eagle Ridge Outdoor Pool. Spani Outdoor Pool is expected to be completed sometime this summer.
Richmond has two: South Arm Outdoor Pool and Steveston Outdoor Pool.
Port Moody has two: Rocky Point Pool and Westhill Pool.
Port Coquitlam has three: Centennial Outdoor Pool and Robert Hope Outdoor Pool. The city also has three spray parks and two wading pools.