The Seattle Parks Department just released its preliminary feasibility study for adding outdoor public pools.  This is the study requested by the City Council last year in response to all of your letters of support. 

You can read the study here or read a copy with key points highlighted here.

Key Findings:

  • Modern pools with modern designs have excellent cost recovery rates. The two nearby, modern pools have high cost-recover rates because they have varied bodies of water and amenities that meet the needs of a wide variety of citizens simultaneously. Operating costs covered by income in 2007:
    • 87% at Mounger Pool (outdoor)
    • 78% at Montlake Terrace Pool (indoor)
  • Seattle has only built one public pool in 30 years.
  • Our 2 existing outdoor pools have exceptionally high attendance rates.
  • Kids are being turned away from lessons due to a lack of capacity: "For youth-oriented programs, both outdoor facilities are at capacity with significant wait lists at Mounger pool." Also:  "Parks programs at all pools generally have full enrollment and wait lists for classes."
  • “…Swimming has the second highest levels of participation, second only to walking” according to the 2006 SUPERSTUDY® of Sports Participation Report for Seattle, Washington and the Pacific Region.
  • Over 2,000 families have signed up for multi-year waitlists at private pools. Wedgwood & View Ridge charge $50 just to join their wait lists while membership costs are in the thousands-of-dollars range. View Ridge and other private pools require members to live within certain neighborhood boundaries, so they aren’t accessible to most city residents.
  • Both existing outdoor pools are located on the far left side of the city, so: "a future priority site should probably be located east of I-5 to balance the location with existing pools."
  • There is also an “obvious gap in the Beacon Hill/North Rainier Valley” for pools of any sort – indoor or outdoor.
  • City-owned sites of interest include: Jefferson Park, Magnuson Park, the to-be-decomissioned Roosevelt reservoir and the Northgate Park-n-Ride lot.

These results are tremendously encouraging and speak to not just to the need for pools but, most importantly, to the feasibility of building pools without damaging the Parks Department’s operational budget. 

If you would like to be involved in planning follow-up steps, please contact elizabeth@seattlepools.org.  We’re going to have a team planning meeting within the next month or so.