You have probably heard that, largely because of our petition, the Parks Department is hosting a public meeting at the Forest Park Pool this Thursday at 6:30 PM to discuss its plans to demolish the Olympic-size pool and replace it with  an “enhanced” aquatic center that is smaller, shallower and inadequate for swim lessons, water-safety training, and drowning prevention classes.

What you might not have heard is that the pool is still open for lap swimming 11-1 and 5-7, Monday through Friday until the weather gets cooler. (The city has done a poor job publicizing this perk.)

So some of us are planning to meet at the pool at 5 PM on Thursday to swim, discuss, and prepare for the meeting. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow swimmers,  refine our vision, and get a better plan in place.

Some of the asks we are currently considering are...

•  Same size pool on the footprint of the old pool , including
  • Eight 50-meter lanes;    
  • Diving board and diving well
  • Depth appropriate for drowning-prevention classes and swim lessons  
  • Easy entry wading pool with interactive features
  • ADA accessibility, including chair lifts 
• Better promotion of this recreational gem to include
  • Signage on Forest Park Blvd, University  Drive,  and I-30
  • Up-to-date website
  • Partnership agreements
  • Sponsorship opportunities
• Off-season construction

The Forest Park Pool  is one of the few  non-commercial, public crossroads in the city. It’s a recreational space  where you can go most any day in the summer  and see people from all parts of the city mingling and enjoying themselves. In a beautifully sited and unique relaxing environment at that! Local swim teams and schools, the drowning-prevention coalition, and families come to swim laps, make a splash, and just cool off – and even more would come if the city could keep an up-to-date website and post actual signs to let people know about the pool.

Any other topics that you want us to raise or stories to share? Any relevant expertise that will help evaluate the city's claims about  systems maintenance costs  or site plans?  Let us know!

Please reach out to fellow swimmers,  civic organizations and curious neighbors from District 9 and farther afield, and let's get some people out!  We anticipate that the Star-Telegram and Channel 11 will send reporters to cover the meeting, and we want to be sure they hear what we have to say.

If you know anyone who could donate pizza or poster materials,  let us know ASAP.

Some other updates for those of you that are still reading :) ...

The Star-Telegram put the meeting on the front page last week, Channel 11 ran a Labor Day story on three newscasts, , Councilmembers have posted it on their pages, and the Parks Department put this event on Facebook. In response to our petition, the city postponed demolition for a year, allowing us one more summer at the Forest Park Pool.  There is talk of building a larger pool, perhaps dependent, unsurprisingly, on outside funding.  

A few other points to consider...

• Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death among children in Tarrant County (second only after car accidents). The Forest Park pool is the last public pool that is sufficiently deep to teach children to swim, and several groups use it for drowning prevention programs.
•  After demolishing 5 neighborhood swimming pools over the past few years, Fort Worth currently has 2 public pools for all 900,000 of us. Austin has 45. El Paso has 14, ten of which are year round.  San Antonio has more than 20.
•  5 of our City Council members are new – this is an opportunity for them to demonstrate their commitment to their constituents and community!
• The city's current aquatics  plan calls for building basically identical  facilities in multiple neighborhoods  as a gesture towards equity. Wouldn't our tax dollars be better spent building facilities with amenities that complement each other?  And a central larger pool provides us with a popular crossroads and avoids "separate but equal" neighborhood isolation.

Finally, a few more press pieces of note: the Star-Telegram ran a comprehensive article about Forest Park Pool's history with some great archival photos:
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article253944488.html

And just this weekend, another letter to the editor, this one from Libby Willis, formerly on the landmarks commission:
https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article254136318.html

Thanks everyone for your feedback, support, outreach!  Please keep it up :)

Chris in Fairmount

(photo, caption, credit via Hollace Weiner's article in the FWST)
> The original Forest Park Pool, pictured on the Fourth of July in 1941, was a giant circular pool with a diving platform in the middle. 
> COURTESY FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM COLLECTION/UT ARLINGTON SPECIAL COLLECTIONS