Vancouver lifeguard shortage not to blame for reduced West End pool hours, park board says
When opening hours at Second Beach Pool were expanded to begin at 7 a.m. last month, West End resident Jorge Amigo took advantage, swimming at the pool about three times a week before work.
“There is a lot of lane swimming happening, but there’s a lot less kids and chaos,” he said.
On Tuesday, his morning visit was cut short, when he noticed a sign on the front gate directing him to go to Kitsilano Pool instead.
“Kits Pool is definitely not a substitute for this pool because it’s not in my neighbourhood. It’s very far,” he said.
According to the Vancouver Park Board, the change of hours isn’t due to a lifeguard shortage. Rather, the hours at Second Beach were expanded because of a temporary closure at Kits Pool. With Kits Pool now open, Second Beach Pool has returned to its previous opening time: noon.
"The initial rationale behind using Second Beach Pool was to cover for the Kits Pool closure,” said park board chair Scott Jensen. "It sounds to me that we need to look in to the possibility of ensuring this pool is open for early morning swimmers.”
Jensen said he has received a number of complaints since the expanded hours at Second Beach Pool went away. He's directing park board staff to look into having the facility open early again.
“I stay in the city because there's amazing public amenities like public pools," said Amigo. "If these things keep getting clawed back and taken away, it makes life in an unaffordable city a little less worth it."
Jensen could not confirm a timeline for when or if hours could be re-expanded at Second Beach Pool this summer.
It’s a time change that could require additional lifeguard staff, something the park board has already struggled with this year.
Last weekend, the board posted online that Spanish Banks West and Sunset beaches were unguarded due to a lifeguard shortage.
The park board says it has 16 vacancies for lifeguard positions. It has roughly half as many auxiliary staff as its target number.
In Port Coquitlam, meanwhile, all lifeguard vacancies have been filled. The city has even over-hired five additional employees. According to Mayor Brad West, it has allowed the city expand its public pool hours.
“It’s no good having a bunch of outdoor pools if you can’t open them or they’re open on a very limited basis and people can’t use them because they aren’t staffed,” said West.
In Vancouver, the park board says it is actively working to hire additional lifeguards and launched marketing campaigns earlier this spring.
“This campaign resulted in all courses offered to train new lifeguards operating with full participation levels, and also has increased applications for lifeguard positions in Vancouver,” a spokesperson for the Vancouver Park Board told CTV News.
The cost of certain certification courses has also been reduced through Vancouver’s Leisure Access Program.
Indoor lifeguard positions pay from $25.21 to $29.63 per hour, while outdoor lifeguard positions start at $30.81 per hour.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.