How do you feel about the City’s pool system? Are they adequate? Do you wish they were in better shape? Your input is desired and welcome! Dive In, Baltimore is the name of the new multi-year project that will lead to a “comprehensive study to create a state of the art vision for the pool system” that will put our city’s aquatic facilities back on par with the best in the country.
The Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks manages 29 pools. Rec and Parks has focused their efforts on pools inside City parks by adding amenities and making sure they are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, among other updates. This new project will focus on the 21 neighborhood pools and stand-alone wading pools, and is being undertaken now because the City’s neighborhood pools system is outdated, and corresponds to the “population distribution, leisure needs and preferences” of the era in which most pools were built: the 1950s through the 1970s, when the City’s population was near one million.
In 2012, many of these pools do not meet current building codes, are not used as frequently as they could be and do not properly address what Baltimore residents want and need in a pool. Many of these pools do not even have an onsite bathroom and are forced to rent a port-a-pot.
The Rec and Parks department is hosting four public meetings in which they are urging everyone to come out and share their ideas for improvements to the aquatics system.
The meetings will be held:
