City of Winnipeg's plan to close Eldon Ross Pool reignites community fight to save facility
Pool in Brooklands area needs $10M in repairs, city says
Catrina Purdy's kids love the Eldon Ross Pool.
The 40-year-old facility in northwest Winnipeg is one of the few places in the city that offers free swim times multiple days a week. Purdy and her five children walk from the nearby Brooklands School to the NorWest Co-op building on Alexander Avenue, where staff take them to the pool next door.
"We see the same people there like every week," Purdy said.
"All the elders there, they talk to my kids. It's a well-shared space.… In the pool, there's no arguments ever. It's a nice environment."
Purdy and other community members who spoke to CBC News say they were saddened to hear the city's latest draft budget proposes closing Eldon Ross Pool, along with several other aquatic facilities.
"I know my kids would be upset," Purdy said, adding that it can be difficult for people with children, and older people, to get to facilities farther away.
The nearest alternatives are at Sergeant Tommy Prince Place or the Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex, both a 30- to 40-minute bus ride away.
Michelle Kirkbride, a community development co-ordinator with the NorWest Co-op, worries that distance could make it harder for kids in the neighbourhood to learn to swim.
"Swimming lessons can be a barrier for people if they're having to travel to another community," she said.
There are few other recreation opportunities in the neighbourhood, Kirkbride said.
"[The pool] belongs to the community. They have a sense of ownership about it," she said. "People feel safe where they feel comfortable, and they love to come here and connect."
The pool is so popular with kids in the area that NorWest skill development co-ordinator Desiree Fredette says the co-op has had to reschedule programs to avoid conflicting with free swim times.
The city had proposed closing it four years ago, when officials issued dire warnings about the city's ability to fund recreation services.
That was met with community backlash, and the latest plan to close the pool has reignited the fight to save it, Fredette said.
"Fighting the good fight," she said.
"We want accessibility.… There's a lot of poverty in this area and we want them to have accessibility when it comes to physical activity and recreation."
Along with the Eldon Ross indoor pool, the city plans to shut down the Happyland and Windsor Park outdoor pools.
The city also plans to review attendance, revenue and operating costs at the Kinsmen Sherbrook Pool over the next four years.
Coun. Evan Duncan, who chairs the city's community services committee, says attendance at the facilities slated for closure isn't keeping up with costs.
"I think we need to make a decision here, if we're going to invest into old infrastructure or turn the corner and invest into new infrastructure that serves a larger part of the community," he said.
"Unfortunately, our aging pools are no longer serving anyone."
According to the city, the Eldon Ross Pool needs an estimated $10 million in repairs.
In 2019, there were 10,170 visitors to the pool, the city says. That plunged to 1,440 and 778 in 2020 and 2021, respectively, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
There were 5,809 visitors in 2022 and 5,566 in 2023.
City councillors will consider the fate of the pool when they vote on the budget in March.
