July 22, 2025
RED FM News Desk
The debate over Kitsilano Pool’s online reservation system has been pushed back until at least September, after the Vancouver Park Board declined an urgent motion to eliminate it during Monday night’s meeting.
Currently, Kitsilano Pool allocates 80% of its capacity for online reservations, with only 20% available for drop-in swimmers.
Park Board chair Laura Christensen ruled that Commissioner Marie-Claire Howard’s motion to revert the popular pool to a first-come, first-served system did not meet the “urgent business” criteria under procedural bylaws.
Howard had argued that changing the pool rules was a public health and safety issue, especially given current extreme temperatures and the unsuitability of many local beaches, including Kitsilano Beach, for swimming due to E. coli levels.
However, Christensen countered that the online booking system has been in place since the pandemic, and the pool has operated for a month this summer without any emergent risks that would justify an immediate change.
Prior to Monday’s meeting, which was the Park Board’s last until September, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim publicly urged commissioners to scrap the reservation system. In a letter to the commissioners, he emphasized that the booking system created “needless complexity and unnecessary barriers for many who simply want to enjoy the pool as they always have, freely and spontaneously.” He implored them not to “waste this opportunity to restore public access to Kits Pool this summer.”
The issue will now be revisited at the board’s next meeting in September.
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