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Three of Calgary’s city-run pools — the Bob Bahan, Sir Winston Churchill and Canyon Meadows aquatic and fitness centres — will be closed while undergoing upgrades this spring and summer.
In an email to pass-holders on Wednesday, the City of Calgary said the Bob Bahan Aquatic and Fitness Centre in Forest Lawn will close May 6 for “urgent electrical repairs.” The facility is expected to remain closed for three to four months, according to that email.
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The final three weeks of service at Bob Bahan will be limited to swimming lessons and swim clubs. It will be closed to the public beginning April 14.
The Canyon Meadows pool and Sir Winston Churchill facility in Brentwood will each close for repairs on July 1. Both will remain shuttered for two to three months, according to the city.
While all three facilities are expected to reopen by the fall, the city indicated those timelines may shift depending on how the upgrades go.
Completing the work now reduces the chance of unexpected failure of the facilities in the future, the city said, adding the timing of the closures was scheduled to minimize disruptions to customers, as indoor pool usage tends to drop during the summer compared to other times of the year.
“We recognize that the timing of these closures may be an inconvenience for some of our customers who enjoy these facilities during the summer months,” the city stated in an email to Postmedia.
Affected Rec Pass holders can use their passes at the Southland or Village Square leisure centres without needing to pay a top-up fee.
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Bob Bahan the only public recreation facility in Forest Lawn area
Gar Gar, the president of the Forest Lawn Community Association, said a potentially four-month closure of the Bob Bahan pool will have a significant effect on some community members who frequent the facility year-round.
While Forest Lawn operates an outdoor swimming pool during the summer months, Gar noted Bob Bahan is the Forest Lawn region’s only public recreation facility.
Many teenage patrons of the Bob Bahan facility will have to rely on public transit to travel to other recreation centres, Gar noted, which include the Village Square Leisure Centre in Pineridge or Genesis Centre in Falconridge.
He said he would have liked the city to have provided more notice, adding the community association found out about the upcoming closure from a resident, rather than the municipality.
On a more positive note, Gar said the community association is planning to unveil the revitalized Forest Lawn Park later this spring. The park, at the corner of 26th Avenue and 39th Street S.E., will boast new outdoor basketball courts and a public gathering area.
“This can definitely outweigh the three-month or four-month (Bob Bahan closure) while they’re waiting for an upgrade,” Gar said.
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