Pool, splash pad plan adopted by Halifax regional council

Halifax regional council unanimously adopted a 15-year strategy for pools and splash pads.

The plan calls for, among other things, upgrades to the outdoor pool on the Halifax Common.

"I'm glad that is a priority," said Mayor Mike Savage.

"You see tons of kids trying to get into that pool and I hope it won't be closed for a summer while a new one is built because it'll be a real loss to the community."

The Long Term Aquatic Strategy also calls for a pool to be maintained in a new Needham Recreation Centre and that the Centennial Pool be replaced with a 50-metre competition facility in partnership with a university.

"It [Centennial]doesn't work," said Coun. Waye Mason.

"It's only sixlanes wide and you need eightlanes and there's no place to sit and watch."

Mason went on to say a new pool will probably have to be built elsewhere because the Centennial's current site is not big enough to handle both a 50-metrepool and a 25-metrewarm-up pool combined which is now the standard for Canada Games competitions.

As for splash pads, recreation planners said Eastern Passage, Dartmouth and Beechville-Lakeside-Timberlea need one in the short termoneto threeyears and then regional and neighbourhood splash pads for across the municipality could be built over the life of the strategy.

"Although they are less costly than a pool, they are quite a bit more than a playground," explained Phillip Hammond, recreation planning specialist for HRM.

"So we want to make sure they are located in areas where they will be well used."