Large public swimming pool in the Beach to be closed all summer for 2nd year in row

A large public swimming facility in the city's Beach neighbourhood will be closed all summer due to ongoing repair work, the city said on Thursday.

Donald D. Summerville Olympic Pools will be closed for the 2023 summer season as repairs continue on its 50-metre pool, the city said in a news release on Thursday. This is the second year that the 50-metre pool is closed for the entire season.

Repairs began this spring as soon as weather permitted, the city said. The facility, located at the foot of Woodbine Avenue near Lake Ontario, also has a 25-metre pool and a separate diving pool.

Its 25-metre pool has been completed refurbished, but the city decided to keep the entire facility closed because repairs on the 50-metre pool mean the facility would be an active construction site and would not be "feasible for safe public use," the city said.

"While the city planned to re-open the 25-metre and 50-metre pools this year, the complexity of and need to expand the scope of repairs to fully address the aging infrastructure has lengthened the required construction window," the city said in the release.

The work includes new pool liners in all three tanks and a full replacement of its deck.