Newton鈥檚 wave pool is set to reopen March 29 after a two-year closure, so that鈥檚 a positive for local swimmers. Meantime, a new 50-metre 鈥渓ap鈥� pool will be included in Newton Community Centre, which is planned for the 6900-block of King George Boulevard 鈥� about a half-kilometre from the wave pool.

Apparently, 性视界传媒 City Hall has plans to make a splash with a couple of indoor pools in Newton, but what about Whalley?

The City Centre neighbourhood lost its only city-operated indoor pool when the old North 性视界传媒 Recreation Centre closed forever, in December 2019, after North 性视界传媒 Sport & Ice Complex opened without a pool near Scott Road SkyTrain station.

Months later, in May 2020, plans to build 性视界传媒 City Centre YMCA were scrapped due to 鈥渆scalating construction costs,鈥� resulting in a lost opportunity for construction of a pool in the area.

It鈥檚 now clear that expansion plans for Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre will not include a swimming pool, and city hall urges City Centre-area swimmers to use Guildford Aquatic Centre, located more than four kilometres away.

So now we have two indoor pools planned in Newton, and none in the fast-growing City Centre area of 性视界传媒.

Seems to us that the lap pool planned at the new Newton Community Centre should be constructed as part of the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre expansion, or done in addition to it. Otherwise, it simply feels like bad planning by the recreation department at city hall.

Now-Leader