A commentary by a retired urban planner who lives in Saanich.
The question of Greater Victoria’s need for and provision of swimming pools (aquatic centres or community recreation facilities) has had a fair airing recently as Victoria has proposed a new 50-metre pool to replace Crystal Pool, and the University of Victoria has indicated that the Archie McKinnon on-campus pool will close.
First, some history.
• The oldest of the region’s current pools is Crystal Pool, built in 1971. It is a 50-metre pool and does not have many/any associated spaces.
• In the following 20 or 30 years, other municipalities built recreation complexes, most of which included 25-metre leisure pools.
• In the run up to the 1994 Commonwealth Games, a new 50-metre pool with associated facilities to meet international hosting standards was required. The initial plan was to build it at UVic but the university said no. Saanich stepped in and the Commonwealth Centre with 50-metre pool, warm-up pool, diving tank and leisure pool was built. Other amenities (gym, fitness area, library, etc.) were also included.
• Since then other 25-metre pools have been built, and older pools, except Crystal Pool, upgraded.
• Commonwealth Pool has also used its facilities to host many events (with economic benefits) although in recent years increasing international facility standards have limited these to national, regional and provincial events.
• Commonwealth Pool has also hosted swim clubs and high performance athlete training with resultant Olympic successes.
If we take a broad regional approach as opposed to a Victoria-only or UVic-only view, what can we learn from this history?
• Does the region need a new 50-metre pool? It has one that operates very effectively and only very large cities in Canada have two 50-metre pools.
• Who would use/benefit from a 50-metre pool? The main clientele are local and national high performance swimmers — those who like or need to swim in a long pool and are not satisfied with a 25-metre pool.
• Who would not use/benefit from a 50-metre pool? Really, most of the rest of pool users who find the depth, length and cold water temperature unpleasant. That includes learn-to-swim groups, seniors, recreational swimmers, etc.
• If a 50-metre pool is built, what support facilities are also needed? For high performance training, a range of facilities including sports science, dry land space and personnel; and if major national or international facilities are envisaged then sophisticated timing, video, scoreboard and perhaps a warm-up pool are required.
• Are these additional facilities planned in the new Crystal Pool? While detailed planning is not complete, from the plans to date it would appear that few such facilities are included.
• So who will use the new Crystal Pool? Swim clubs and community performance swimmers both youth and adult will use it especially those who live in the city. Swim club usage will be heavily dependent on pricing and subsidy rates.
• If the region needs a second 50-metre pool, is the Crystal Pool location the best? UVic would be a better location because it has all the sports science labs, facilities and personnel that high performance athletes need. In addition, the McKinnon Pool is inadequate and soon will be closed. And the university pool can serve as the training pool and the Commonwealth Pool can continue to be Victoria’s events pool.
• When Crystal Pool is closed what should replace it? A community recreation centre with a 25-metre leisure pool with warm water for swim lessons and leisure swimmers and many others.
• Will this cost $200 million? No, but if we’re going to spend that kind of money let’s make sure we add lots of community facilities such as a very large child-care centre, seniors daycare, a primary care facility, community library and maybe even a few floors of seniors housing.
• Should the residents and taxpayers of the City of Victoria foot the bill? No, but the province will pay for/contribute to the child-care centre, Island Health for the health facilities and B.C. Housing for the seniors housing.
• Is the current Crystal Pool location the best one? If that is all we’ve got in the city, then yes.
But has the City of Victoria looked at or talked to the school district, whose S.J. Willis land (at the corner of Hillside and Blanshard and up the hill to link with Topaz Park) is owned by the city (in trust for school purposes)?
If that site, which is about three or four times the size of the Crystal Pool site, were used, perhaps we could expand the vision to include some of the other much talked-about and much needed regional amenities such as a new central library, a theatre to replace McPherson and a community knowledge campus that would include the library and theatre but also focus on a wide range of education and other knowledge activities.
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