UPDATE - June 28, 2022

There was a truly shocking turn of events at the Park Board meeting last night as Park Board Commissioners voted to re-allocate funds to build the Mount Pleasant Pool and override City staff recommendations to not fund the pool. (You can watch the that Special Meeting here; many of us spoke up against the pool).

There are now only a few hours left to contact City Council as Park Board tries to push through pool funding despite significant opposition! Park Board Commissioners acknowledged that they received more correspondence from people opposed to the pool than those who are in favour.
 
Their intent is to re-allocate $11.5M from other, much worthier projects related to habitat restoration, and push through the Mount Pleasant Park pool. Commissioner Dumont called this “reckless governance” and does not support this move.
 
Apparently it is now up to City Council to approve this reallocation. They need to receive your clear direction TODAY as their Special Council Meeting to vote on the Capital Plan takes place tomorrow (June 29) at 9:30am.  

Please contact City Council right now through their preferred portal and write “I am opposed to the Park Board amendment to "explore re-allocating $11.5M of funds" to plan, design and build the Mount Pleasant Park pool.”

You can also submit a request to speak at tomorrow’s meeting here; many of us will be speaking as well.

 

 

UPDATE - June 25, 2022

The proposed Mount Pleasant Pool is not recommended for funding in the 2023-2026 Capital Plan (see Page 10).
 
What does this mean? Unless the Park Board comes up with $18M, the proposed pool will not be built in the coming years.
 
Will the Park Board find this money? Who knows – we think it is highly unlikely, but one simple email before 3:00pm Pacific on June 27th will let the Park Board Commissioners know that we are watching closely, and that we continue to oppose the pool.
 
All it takes is a quick email to PBcommissioners@vancouver.ca with “oppose funding Mount Pleasant Pool in the 2023-2026 Capital Plan”.

Thank you so much for loving Mount Pleasant Park as much as we do! 

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In a few weeks, Vancouver City Council will decide whether to approve a $20M 100-day outdoor pool in the middle of Mount Pleasant Park!

We need you to contact City Councillors and Park Board Commissioners to tell them Mount Pleasant Park is the wrong location for an outdoor pool! And we've got all the information you need right here to do this.

As you already know, Mount Pleasant Park is a beautiful, much loved gathering space in the centre of the community! This well used greenspace is integral to the community. Simon Fraser Elementary is right next door and regularly uses the park for lessons, nature walks, and sports day activities because they have so little greenspace at the school. The park is heavily used all year round - it sees countless birthday parties, picnics, and impromptu gatherings, not to mention the Mount Pleasant Park Festival, and Music on Main pop-up concerts. 

But at the beginning of June 2022, City Councillors will meet to decide whether to replace "the great lawn" with an outdoor pool that will then site empty and closed for 9 months of the year. Promises made 15 years ago to replace the old pool were for a community that no longer exists, and do not represent the Mount Pleasant of today. Mount Pleasant has grown and changed and will continue to do so.

There are so many reasons to oppose this pool, and we've outlined many of them in detail in SECTION 1 below. It is critical that decision-makers hear directly from you about why you care about Mount Pleasant Park and why you are opposed to this pool; SECTION 2 below has the contact information for Vancouver City Councillors and the Vancouver Park Board Commissioners and a sample email (please also sign this petition). Once you've contacted these decision-makers please let us know; see SECTION 3 for our contact details. And please scroll down to SECTION 4 to review our transparency disclaimer about any requests for donations that you may receive in relation to this petition

So read on, voice your concerns and say NO to an outdoor pool in Mount Pleasant Park. And then please send this link to your friends and neighbours. 

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SECTION 1

Here's why to say NO to an outdoor pool in Mount Pleasant Park: 

This beautiful park is in the heart of Mount Pleasant, a neighbourhood recognized by Vancouver Park Board as having low greenspace. The proposed pool would result in a 30% loss of this small park's greenspace. This directly conflicts with Goal #2 of the Vancouver Park Board’s own 2018 VanPlay report. In their own words, this Park Board report states: Protect existing parks and recreation spaces from loss, encroachment and densification. [T]he significant increase in our population and the city’s increasing density has put greater pressure on our parks’ system.  This is especially true in…Mt.Pleasant, False Creek and the Cambie corridor  (https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/vanplay-report-2-goals-to-shape-the-next-25-years.pdf). These are all neighbourhoods that rely on Mount Pleasant Park for accessible greenspace! (See also the Park Board's VanSplash 2021 Outdoor Pool study, page 10 (https://parkboardmeetings.vancouver.ca/2021/20211115/REPORT-OutdoorPoolStudy-October2021-20211108.pdf) 

The Ontario Greenway restricts vehicle traffic and increases bike access at the park, but the pool will draw more drivers to this congested area. The Ontario Greenway expansion has impacted access around Mount Pleasant Park at Ontario and 16th Avenue. More vehicles in the vicinity of Mount Pleasant Park will make vehicle traffic even worse; parking is already limited and the potential for conflicts between motorists and bicycles is high. 

Students at Simon Fraser Elementary need access to this greenspace. The school is right next to the park, and teachers regularly take their classes to the park because they don't have enough greenspace on the school grounds. They take nature walks, have lessons, and use the park for their sports day.

Building a pool in Mount Pleasant Park will take valuable funds away from much-needed upgrades to ageing community facilities and infrastructure (including community centres). There is a huge funding shortfall across the City, in part due to the Covid pandemic. Building a new pool in Mount Pleasant Park is a waste of $15-20 million which should go to the many other, more deserving projects (like the renewal of community centres!). On March 1, 2022, Councillor Kirby-Yung tabled a motion asking that the City prioritize the upgrading of existing and ageing community facilities and infrastructure (including community centres, roads and sidewalks) rather than building new facilities. But if this outdoor pool (closed for 9 months a year) gets approved, other community centres (open all year, serving as cooling centres in the summer and warming centres in the winter!) won’t get the upgrades they need.

Pools are not climate or water friendly! The proposed pool would replace trees and grass with concrete, including the removal of ~30% of the park's trees. But on February 9, 2022, Vancouver City Council unanimously supported a motion to align Vancouver’s 2023-2026 Capital Plan with increased climate emergency action. Pools are carbon and water intensive whereas trees/parks sequester carbon. And green spaces are free - everyone benefits from parks! Pools are for paying users only. (But if you pay city taxes, some of your hard earned dollars will go towards building this pool).

There is no clear idea of how many or how few people will use the proposed $20M pool. The pool will be open for max 100days/year. It will become an eyesore sitting empty (or partially filled with disgusting bird poo and rainwater) for ~9 months/year! Besides there are several other outdoor pools in close proximity, and Hillcrest Outdoor Pool is expanding (To see a map of the overlapping catchment areas of nearby outdoor pools, see page 11 of the Outdoor Pool Study: https://parkboardmeetings.vancouver.ca/2021/20211115/REPORT-OutdoorPoolStudy-October2021-20211108.pdf

Parks and other greenspaces are important for everyone’s health and wellbeing! Covid-19 has reaffirmed the importance of parks and nature to our mental well-being! “A growing body of epidemiological evidence indicates that contact with natural environments (such as parks) is associated with better health and well-being, at least among populations in high income, largely urbanised, societies…Living in greener urban areas is associated with lower probabilities of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, asthma hospitalization, mental distress, and ultimately mortality, among adults; and lower risks of obesity and myopia in children” (White, et al. (2019). Sci Rep 9, 7730. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44097-3). These are incredibly important health benefits at any time, not to mention during a global pandemic where isolation and mental health concerns have jumped to the forefront. 

There are much better locations with existing infrastructure from old splash/kiddie pools really close by. The Park Board has recommended that Hillcrest Outdoor Pool be expanded with a second tank.  Jonathan Rogers Park at 8th Avenue and Manitoba, and Douglas Park, are large grassy areas with existing wading pool infrastructure. 

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SECTION 2

Sample Letter to Vancouver City Councillors and Park Board Commissioners (if you don't have time to compose your own email, please copy and paste the following email addresses and text into an email):

Kennedy.Stewart@vancouver.ca, CLRbligh@vancouver.ca, CLRboyle@vancouver.ca, CLRcarr@vancouver.ca, CLRdegenova@vancouver.ca, CLRdominato@vancouver.ca, CLRfry@vancouver.ca, CLRhardwick@vancouver.ca, CLRkirby-yung@vancouver.ca, CLRswanson@vancouver.ca, CLRwiebe@vancouver.ca, Tricia.Barker@vancouver.ca, john.coupar@vancouver.ca, Dave.Demers@vancouver.ca, Camil.Dumont@vancouver.ca, Gwen.Giesbrecht@vancouver.ca, John.Irwin@vancouver.ca, stuart.mackinnon@vancouver.ca, PBcommissioners@vancouver.ca

Dear Mayor Stewart, City Councillors and Park Board Commissioners,

Mount Pleasant Park is a beautiful, much loved gathering space in the centre of the community! This well used greenspace is integral to the community and is heavily used all year round - it sees countless birthday parties, picnics, reunions, as well as festivals and concerts.

There are many reasons I oppose the proposed outdoor pool in Mount Pleasant Park including:

-The park is the perfect back yard for the entire community especially for those who live in apartments or have no yards;

-The pool conflicts with stated city priorities around maintaining greenspaces in Mt. Pleasant and the Cambie Corridor (see Goal #2 of the Vancouver Park Board’s own VanPlay report);

-The new Ontario Greenway has restricted vehicle traffic and increased bike transport, but a pool would bring more drivers into this already-congested area, increasing the likelihood of vehicle-cyclist conflict;

-Students at Simon Fraser Elementary need this greenspace!

-There are other better locations nearby like Hillcrest Outdoor Pool and parks with existing infrastructure from old splash/kiddie pools (eg, Jonathan Rogers Park at 8th Avenue and Manitoba, and Douglas Park);

-The proposed pool would replace grass with concrete, is carbon/water/energy intensive, and conflicts with the Vancouver City Council motion to align Vancouver’s 2023-2026 Capital Plan with increased climate emergency action;

-This $20Million 100-day outdoor pool is fiscally irresponsible - there is a huge funding shortfall across the City, and this pool would take valuable funds away from much-needed upgrades to ageing community facilities and infrastructure (including community centres) across the City;

-Parks are important for everyone’s health and wellbeing! Covid-19 has reaffirmed the importance of parks and nature to our mental well-being, and the park was packed with locals during the pandemic! 

Promises made 15 years ago to replace the old pool were for a community that no longer exists, and does not represent the Mount Pleasant of today. Mount Pleasant has grown and changed and will continue to do so. And Mount Pleasant Park is the wrong location for an outdoor pool.

Sincerely,

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SECTION 3

Please keep in touch and let us know that you've contacted the decision makers to say no to a pool in Mount Pleasant Park. We promise to keep the pressure on them!  You can join us on Facebook or reach out to no_pool@icloud.com

Updates we've sent can be found below, but please check your email's security settings (especially Gmail and Hotmail) so you can receive our future updates. 

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SECTION 4

Disclaimer:  In the interests of full transparency, please note that any requests for donations that may accompany your signing of this proposal come from Change.org. They do not come from the organizers of this time-limited petition, nor do any donated funds go to these organizers. If you choose to make a donation, they are used by Change.org to broadcast the petition more widely. The organizers of this petition are most interested in keeping this petition hyper-local, grassroots and word of mouth, and are targeting this to people in Mount Pleasant and Vancouver, or those familiar with Mount Pleasant Park, and do not believe the petition needs to be broadcast beyond this corner of the world.