The problems with Vancouver’s pools are just getting worse

Vancouver’s aquatic facilities are in big trouble. 

“Our pools are in a state of decline,” one Lookout reader said in answer to our recent request for readers' thoughts on the state of the city’s pools. “It's hard to get access to the pools and classes. Facilities are often broken or in need of repair. We haven't invested in a new pool in 16 years. What more can I say?” 

Reader responses touched on the importance of these public facilities and programs in the lives of locals, places that offer intergenerational spaces to exercise, play, relax, and learn. However, most readers aren’t happy with the city’s current aquatic offerings, with many of the troubling themes summed up in that observant reader’s comment. 

And it’s not just Lookout readers who have the sense these systems are failing: established user groups, elected officials, and the institutions themselves are recognizing the major problems with aging infrastructure and a lack of capacity, while offering, and arguing over, a variety of possible solutions.  

The biggest issue with Vancouver’s pools is that most facilities are old, which predictably results in shutdowns – often lengthy, unexpected, or both – for repair or full-scale renewal. It’s one example of a broader problem the city has around outdated and neglected infrastructure, including at three-quarters of its recreation facilities.  

A recent city report was blunt in laying out the impact: “When aging recreation facilities fail, there is no surge capacity — displaced programs and residents have nowhere to go.”

Vancouver has nine year-round indoor pools, and an additional five outdoor pools that are open in the summer. However, that overall number of pools, similar to a comparable neighbour like Surrey, is shrinking rather than growing, with the long-term closure and renewal of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre (VAC) starting at the end of this month.

“The Vancouver Aquatic Centre is absolutely jammed [on] afternoons and evenings,” one reader told us. “Where are all these swimmers going to go a month from now?” 

The knock-on effects of the VAC closure are a very real concern, according to park board Commissioner Scott Jensen. “Our aquatics were strained to begin with … [now] we're taking one pool offline, and we are putting all of those users into a system that's already stretched,” Jensen said. 

One of the primary user groups at the VAC is the Canadian Dolphin Swim Club (CDSC), an association with nearly 300 swimmers ranging from kids as young as six to seniors in their eighties. 

The club had never had to turn away members before, head coach Kelly Taitinger told Vancity Lookout. But for next winter, he said CDSC will need to cut between 60 and 70 swimmers from its programs due to reduced capacity at city pools.

While CDSC is getting good access to the city’s outdoor pools this summer, Taitinger said the club will have its pool time reduced by over 40 per cent this winter, based on the allocation he recently received from the park board. That runs counter to the park board’s policy for rehoming VAC user groups, which states their pool time would be cut by no more than 20 per cent. 

A park board spokesperson did not respond directly to Vancity Lookout’s question of whether or not the board was able to fulfill its policy promise. “[We] are working with user groups to address minor revisions [to facility allocations] as feedback is received,” the spokesperson said.  

The bulk of CDSC’s new pool time is at Hillcrest, which is already over capacity, Jensen said. As a result of VAC groups being rehomed, public swim hours at Hillcrest will be “minimally reduced,” while swim lesson hours won’t decrease, according to the park board. 

Jensen explained that the board’s 2019 aquatics strategy calls for building new pools before renewing existing ones. But that direction hasn’t been followed in recent years due to serious structural failures at the VAC and Kits Pool, and the rising cost of those replacement projects. 

“Those two needs really changed a lot of the direction for the park board [and] there just wasn't enough money to go around,” Jensen said, describing how the VAC and Kits “got jumped to the front of the queue.” 

Adding to the capacity problem, Kerrisdale Pool has been closed for nearly a year now. The pool was closed for a planned roof replacement in July 2025. However, during that closure, a drain pipe failure and further mechanical problems were discovered at the 72-year-old facility, which required extensive repairs. 

The park board spokesperson said staff are currently working on final leak testing and minor repairs, with an official re-opening date yet to be set. However, the pool is expected to re-open soon, according to Jensen and Kerrisdale Community Centre Society president Dorothy Chang.

“We recognize the combined impact of the Kerrisdale closure and the upcoming closure of VAC on capacity, user groups, and public programming,” a park board spokesperson said in response to questions from Vancity Lookout, saying staff are working to minimize disruptions. 

Jensen, with help from the Canadian Dolphins, is working on a potential solution to Vancouver’s pool crunch. 

The idea is to consider building a modular, above-ground pool – cheaper and quicker to build than a renewal project like the new VAC – to create additional capacity and ease the burden on the city’s existing pools. 

“This is a really new way of thinking about our aquatics,” Jensen said, explaining that the technology was brought to his attention during the debate over the VAC renewal. “I think that we can do something quite transformative for our aquatic systems in Vancouver,” he added.

Next month, Jensen is meeting with Myrtha Pools, an Italian company specializing in modular pool construction, to get a better understanding of the cost, longevity, user experience, and site footprint required for this type of facility. 

“The park board had apparently looked into these temporary pools in the past, and had somewhat dismissed them as an option,” based on their relatively short lifespans, Jensen said.

While he emphasized there’s still a lot of detail he’d like to get from potential contractors, Jensen’s general understanding is that these pools can now last for several decades. But he wants more specifics about modular pools before asking park board staff to do their own due diligence on the idea. 

However, Jensen is running out of time in his term, as the park board’s final meeting before the October election is scheduled for July 27. “I will consider my options after my meeting [with Myrtha] in mid-July. There will be possibilities,” Jensen said.

The city and park board are also considering investments into more traditional aquatic facilities as part of the next four-year capital plan, which will be set in late July ahead of the election. 

The ABC majority on city council have asked staff to prioritize a new pool in Sunset Park. That announcement was galling for nearby neighbours in Marpole-Oakridge, which had a new pool promised, and then scrapped, as part of the ongoing first phase of renewals at the Marpole Community Centre. The Marpole Community Centre Association said the city had promised that its pool would get top priority once funding was available, according to CBC.

But, as with so many election promises, the pool politics may be putting the proverbial cart before the horse. 

Nothing has been decided yet on funding for pools at Sunset or Marpole, park board GM Steve Jackson said when the issue came up at a recent meeting. “Those decisions will be made by [commissioners] in July,” he said. City council, which holds the board’s purse strings, will have major influence on those decisions as well.   

“Enrolling a child into a swim class is next to impossible!!!” one reader told us, while others reported they’d either given up trying to register or have had to go to other municipalities to access classes. 

“Demand for swimming lessons continues to outstrip supply,” as the park board spokesperson put it. The park board’s program website lists about 150 current and upcoming swim lessons with an instructor. As of June 4, one spot is available in one class, while all others are listed as full. This spring, the park board provided 4,100 lesson spots across all its facilities.

Swim lesson accessibility is an issue that’s affecting elected officials as well. At a recent park board meeting, ABC Commissioner Jas Virdi said he’s one of those Vancouverites who has taken to going elsewhere, Richmond in his case, to get swim lessons for his two kids. Commissioner Laura Christensen described herself as “very lucky” to have gotten her daughter into swim lessons in Vancouver.

The park board has just begun exploring the possibility of offering free swim lessons, something Surrey is also implementing. The policy idea was spurred by a recent motion from Mayor Ken Sim, but did not include any specific funding from the city for the proposed program. 

Park board commissioners approved the idea but want more details. Staff will evaluate the cost, the board’s ability to offer pool time and instructors for those classes, and whether other services would need to be reduced. 

“The issue is fundamentally capacity,” not cost, when it comes to swimming lessons, Christensen said. 

Another popular program amongst Lookout readers is Aquafit classes, low-impact water workouts that are particularly good for seniors, people with minor mobility challenges, and those rehabbing from an injury.

One reader pointed out how the ongoing closure of Kerrisdale Pool is “unfortunate for seniors who attended Aquafit daily.” Aquafit classes have much better availability than swim lessons, with only a handful of full classes among the approximately 50 Aquafit opportunities currently listed on the park board website.

For all the serious problems with Vancouver’s pool system, it’s crucial to note the important and beloved functions these facilities serve for local residents. 

“As a regular user of [Templeton, Britannia, and New Brighton] pools, I find them well-attended and very important parts of the East Van community,” one reader told us. “From toddlers, babies, kids, teens, adults, and seniors, there are times and programs for everyone.”

Readers described the physical and mental health benefits of pools as places to stay cool, work out, and socialize, offering an affordable way to get out of the house, especially for families, teenagers, and seniors. “We need … pools all over Vancouver … they are an asset to every neighbourhood they are in,” a reader said. 

There was lots of love for the city’s outdoor pools, especially New Brighton, Second Beach, and Kits, as well as nostalgia for now-defunct outdoor neighbourhood pools in Sunset, Marpole, Hastings and Mount Pleasant. 

Other readers expressed their satisfaction with newer pool facilities, like the expansive one at Hillcrest Community Centre, built ahead of the 2010 Olympics as a curling event space and renovated after the games. But, as a reader rightly pointed out, that’s the most recently built aquatic facility in Vancouver.  

It’s a reminder that pools are a part of our city's social fabric, but, like so many civic assets, they’ll fray and eventually fall apart when neglected.

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