Wading into possibilities
How Lincoln Park Pool’s future shapes up is at the heart of South End, city debate
Resident and community groups in the South End are fighting to save the iconic shape of the Lincoln Park Pool as the city weighs how to replace it.
They’re up against a tall order. The leaky, crumbling behemoth doesn’t appear to meet state health codes. The city believes simply replacing the pool as it stands today would be overly expensive, less safe than a modern design and extremely difficult to meet public health standards.
But residents fear it is another example of the South End neighborhood having one of its unique features being taken away, rather than saved for future generations to enjoy.
At the heart of the tension is a neighborhood that has long pushed back against proposals to change the uniquely shaped swimming hole. There were calls for the pool’s closure in the 1980s. In 2000, then-mayor Jerry Jennings threatened to close the pool,
citing the same issues the city is facing today. Jennings proposed building a smaller lap pool that would have a zeroentry area.
Many of the residents who fought back against Jennings’ proposals, which he ultimately backed down from, are still pushing to maintain the current design today.
Tom Mcpheeters, former chief operating officer for Avillage, said he hasn’t changed his views on the pool since then.
“That size and shape is what was best for the neighborhood,” he said. “It’s a real gem.”
Mcpheeters echoed a concern that others had shared — that a new city pool would be used to host regional swimming meets, rather than a place for city residents to escape the heat.
“That’s not the purpose of this pool,” he said. “This pool is an asset for kids who live in the neighborhood and they have damn little else.”
What isn’t in question is that it needs to be replaced. The pool, built on top of a filled-in ravine, has leaked almost since the day it opened in 1930. The estimated water loss is 300,000 to 500,00 gallons a day. Its decking is cracking, and the city has to shut it down periodically to make emergency repairs.
Last month, Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s administration launched a public engagement tour to gather input from residents on what they’d like to see at the site. The city does not have a dedicated funding stream for a replacement pool.
Weston & Sampson, the firm the city has contracted with to study the issue, said the future pool could have a variety of looks, including a modern Olympic-style with added amenities such as playgrounds, a lazy river or wave pool, or addons like slides, diving boards and rock-climbing walls.
“We’re trying to set the stage for how we can have a safe, useful pool facility at Lincoln Park for generations to come,” Daniel Biggs, the principal in charge from Weston & Sampson, said.
But during a June 24 virtual open house, some residents were insistent that the city try and replace the zero-entry style pool exactly as it stands and voiced suspicions that the city had already made up its mind to do away with the unique design and replace it with an Olympic-style lap pool.
The city said it is being open about the process and that it wants to listen to residents’ ideas for the future of the
South End pool while being realistic about what it can do with the site.
Deputy Recreation Commissioner Justin Atlas said the city hoped to modernize the pool but added, some changes would have to be made.
“What changes, how severe or what they might entail, we want the community to help us make those decisions as to what the overall project might look like,” he said.
Beyond the pool’s unique shallow entry is its size. The pool takes up 1.6 acres, compared to an Olympic pool’s 0.3 acres. Though the pool hasn’t been filled to capacity in some time, it can hold 1.1 million gallons, compared to an Olympic pool’s 660,000 gallons.
State health codes require the water to be filtered and chlorinated. The entire volume of water must be filtered every six hours, but the pool’s current filtration system takes about eight hours.
The city also cites other safety concerns that make replacing the pool as-is a violation of state code, which residents have pushed back on. It argues the wide, oval layout makes scanning the entire pool difficult for lifeguards and the shallow entry points make it impossible to install ladders that modern pools require. There are also concerns about a lack of clear depth marks.
At full capacity, the pool requires two shifts of 22 lifeguards, according to the city’s presentation. The city says it has had trouble finding enough people to fill the spots, forcing it to close part of the pool.
Atlas said the city had looked at the constraints and acknowledged the strong desire in the community to keep the current design.
“At the same time, aesthetics and functionality of this pool are two different things and we need to find a happy balance
between both of them,” he said during the open house.
But some are still skeptical. Councilman Derek Johnson, whose district includes the pool, said he believed the participants were being steered away from the idea of reconstructing the current pool.
“It was hard to listen to, it was guiding us in a direction we said we don’t want to go in,” he said during the June 24 meeting. “There’s not a need to drag this thing out. We like to know if our wishes are being respected.”
Councilwoman Cathy Fahey, who represents the upper part of Lincoln Park, called the June 24 presentation disappointing and said it lacked information on what it would take to build that type of pool again.
Fahey recalled how the city shut down the historic indoor swimming pool at Bathhouse No. 3 in the face of community opposition.
“We want to avoid that if we can,” she said on Friday. “It’s an important part of the history of the city.”
Other voices on the open house were more direct.
“This is a referendum about equity in this area,” Robert Malerba said.
Sheehan acknowledged that the city initially indicated that the pool couldn’t be rebuilt as is. The health and safety issues were ones the city must consider, the mayor said. But she added the city was committed to listening to residents about what they want.
“In many ways it cannot be rebuilt, the ladder issue and the deep end issue is a real challenge,” she said. “That doesn’t mean you can’t do it, with limitless money, anything is possible. I think we also have to look at how this pool is used, amenities that people would be looking for. I think all of those voices need to be heard.”
The city has multiple ways for residents to weigh in on the pool’s future, including a display at the pool where visitors can vote for what possible amenities they’d like to see under a new design.
The city is also doing weekly public engagement events to gather input and listen to what residents want through August. There is also a survey on the Recreation Department’s website for residents to fill out.
The administration is planning three more virtual open houses. A final recommendation on the future design is set for early October.
In many ways it cannot be rebuilt, the ladder issue and the deep end issue is a real challenge. That doesn’t mean you can’t do it, with limitless money, anything is possible. I think we also have to look at how this pool is used, amenities that people would be looking for. I think all of those voices need to be heard.” — Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan