Winnipeggers protest plans to close pools

Winnipeggers are making waves over plans to close their local swimming pool.

The new four-year budget calls for closing three pools and replacing or decommissioning 20 water bodies.

At closing, the city will invest in 10 new spraygrounds at a cost of $20 million.

But some say pools are too important to unplug.

“I was shocked. I was angry,” Kuhn said. Matt Ellard.

The three pools – the indoor Eldon Ross Pool at Brooklands, the outdoor pool at Windsor Park and the outdoor Happylands Pool at St Boniface – are the area Allard represents.

Allard is lobbying her council colleagues to keep the pools, and said she has identified $1 million in the budget to replace them.

“We're in a meth and opioid crisis, and these are the right conditions for us to engage in healthy constructive activism.”

During the unveiling of the budget on Wednesday, Con. Jeff Brovati, the city's finance chairman, said the plan is to modernize water facilities.

He said many of the pools are at the end of their useful life and have few visitors. Additionally, the city is having trouble attracting lifeguards, so a sprinkler option is being considered.

“We need staff to be there to make sure they're safe and everything is working. But you don't need someone on a permanent basis. So the season could be a lot longer,” Broughati said Wednesday.

But this decision is causing resonance. Amber Gauthier, president of the Windsor Park Residents Association, said she is trying to keep the neighborhood pool open.

“This pool is very important to the community, especially to my family. My husband and daughter come here almost every day during the summer,” Gauthier said.

“Last night we told my daughter about it and she was thinking about the sprinkler instead, she's actually crying because she's 10 years old. “A splash pad is not fun for this age group.”

If the budget is approved, the watersheds would be closed between 2026 and 2029, and the splash pad would open between 2027 and 2030.

Five more spray sites will also be opened this year and next, and 13 other water bodies will be closed as planned in previous budgets.

The budget will now go through the approval process at the City Hall with a final council vote scheduled for March 20.