Bulletin: East-west pool “divide” update – Delridge to open Sundays

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Three weeks ago, we told you about Delridge residents’ concern that none of eastern West Seattle’s city-run wading pools are open on Sundays, including the one in their neighborhood (shown above on a sunny Sunday earlier this month); read the original WSB article here. They had talked with the city, and we followed up with the Parks Department as well, but it seemed no reconsideration would be in order until the schedule for next year was drawn up, and the concerned wading-pool users were in the process of planning their next steps. Now – we have just received word of a breakthrough. Parks Board commissioner and Alki resident Jackie Ramels just told WSB moments ago that the city is about to announce that the Delridge wading pool WILL open on Sundays after all, for the rest of this season, five more Sundays starting this week. Delridge Neighborhood Services Coordinator Ron Angeles had also been working on this issue; a note to him from parks deputy superintendent Christopher Williams says in part, “Next year we will re-examine the wading pool operating schedule across the system in order to plan for the best overall distribution and access to wading pools in our system.” (Our original report included a map of which wading pools around the city were open on Sundays and which were not; in West Seattle, Lincoln Park and Hiawatha had been the only ones open on Sundays.)

4 Replies to "Bulletin: East-west pool "divide" update - Delridge to open Sundays"

  • Michael July 30, 2008 (2:57 pm)

    Considering how rabid and willing to fight the Sunday pool “activist” was, I think the City actually saved us taxpayers money by just going ahead and opening it.

    I hope now the “activists” will open their pocketbooks to help keep it open.

  • Nancy Folsom July 31, 2008 (12:44 pm)

    This is delightful news, and I guess it means I don’t need to wait for Ms. Whitman’s okay to report a happy message I had from the city that adds to this. Ms. Golub of the planning dept. told me last week that the city is planning to reassess schedules next year using more sophisticated measuring techniques and will involve a new (?) demographer working with or for the city. They considering creative ideas such as closing parks on slow week days so they can be open on weekends. Nothing definitive, but it shows they’re open to reconsidering the schedule, so we weren’t really that far off from their goals. Kudos to all the terrific city employees for taking time out to address this question!

  • Betsy August 1, 2008 (8:47 am)

    Thank you to the city and to the blog for helping us out. Maybe the city will luck-out and it will be cold and rainy on those five Sundays. I really appreciate the City listening to us and addressing what certainly appears from the census data to be a social and economic disparity.

  • Michael August 4, 2008 (10:17 am)

    Except the data shows there isn’t a disparity. Pools were also closed in “advantaged” areas and open in other “disadvantaged” areas.
    .
    People just wanted THIS one open. And there’s nothing wrong with that – hell, there are even ways to bring the “socioeconomic” card into play (with less money for other entertainment, they need the pool MORE than the “advantaged” folks).
    .
    Just don’t claim discrimination or inequity.

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