It appears that a number of Fort Saskatchewan residents are itching for a new pool.
At last week's city council meeting, the results of the indoor recreation survey were discussed.
The survey was sent to a total of 11,912 households in Fort Saskatchewan, with 1,509 sending back responses.
One of the questions on the survey asked residents what type of new recreational space was needed. A new pool was reportedly the most suggested item, though no specific numbers were released on the number of respondents who asked for one.
In the survey, it was described that a series of meetings were convened with community contributors and the city to discuss future plans for indoor recreation in Fort Saskatchewan.
Those meetings revealed a need for more adventure-oriented aquatic amenities such as slides, diving boards, rope swings, a lazy river, and waves. It was also reported in the survey that implementing those types of things at the existing Harbour Pool would be difficult due to the size of the facility.
As such, the DCC was mentioned as a possible landing spot for a new pool. The report says that a new aquatic facility there could see more people use the DCC and it will help support residential growth in the area.
Harbour Pool still very popular
Harbour Pool, which turned 40 last December, was deemed to be the most used indoor recreation centre for Fort Saskatchewan residents, with about 75 per cent of respondents saying that they utilized the pool at least a few times per year.
49 per cent of those surveyed said they used the pool for drop-in recreation, sport, fun, and fitness.
Though popular, there was also a lot of concern about the Harbour Pool by respondents. 65 per cent of those surveyed said they would be much more likely to use the pool more often if improvements were made.
Such improvements suggested were the aforementioned adventure amenities, a larger tank with improved access for those with mobility challenges, and improvements to their change rooms.
The idea of a second pool is not new for the community. Back in 2018, the city said they were exploring the possibility of including a pool in their long-term capital plan, but ultimately did not move forward with the project.
More recently, an assessment was done at Harbour Pool that entertained the option of tearing down the facility and replacing it with another of the same size.