Today, Mayor John Tory officially opened the City’s outdoor pools at the West Mall outdoor swimming pool in Etobicoke. The pool is one of 10 outdoor pools that have been opened early to help Toronto residents get outdoors for some exercise and relief from the heat.
The 10 outdoor pool locations open today across the city and will remain open until Labour Day. The remaining 49 outdoor pools will open for the season on June 19. All 59 outdoor pools will expand to full hours of operation when school is let out on June 30. Roughly 1,950 staff will support outdoor pool operations this year.
The 10 outdoor pools that opened today are:
• Alex Duff – 779 Crawford St.
• Monarch Park Pool – 115 Felstead Ave.
• Heron Park CC – 292 Manse Rd.
• Grandravine CC – 23 Grandravine Dr.
• McGregor CC – 2231 Lawrence Ave. E.
• Parkway Forest CC – 59 Forest Manor Rd.
• Pine Point – 15 Grierson Rd.
• Riverdale Park – 550 Broadview Avenue
• Sunnyside – Gus Ryder – 1755 Lake Shore Blvd. W.
• West Mall – 380 The West Mall
Reservations for 45-minute leisure or lane swim sessions must be made in advance online at Toronto Swim. Blocks of new swim reservation spots are released Thursdays at 8 a.m. for the following Monday to Sunday. To ensure fairer access bookings for the same activity, bookings are restricted to one per day, per person. A select number of spaces at each outdoor pool location will be held back to ensure swimming remains accessible to people with limited access to the Internet. These spaces are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
More than 23,819 reservations were made in the first two days that the system was up and running.
Residents visiting City outdoor pools are reminded:
• Supervision and/or swimming ability requirements are in place for children under 10 years of age at all City outdoor pools.
• Leisure swimming is free for all ages.
• Outdoor lane swim is also free and is open to swimmers age seven and older for swimming continuous lengths or widths.
• Caregivers should supervise children at all times.
• Listen to the on-duty lifeguards.
Like last summer, capacity at outdoor pools is reduced to 25 per cent to ensure adequate space for physical distancing. Staff have worked with Toronto Public Health to meet guidelines to ensure people can swim safely at outdoor pools. Patrons visiting the City’s outdoor pools will be required to sign-in and provide their first name and an email or phone number to facilitate Toronto Public Health contact tracing should it be required.
More information on about swimming in the city is available at Toronto Swim.
Quotes:
“I’m delighted that we’re able to open up outdoor pools ahead of schedule now that the city has moved into Step 1 of the provincial reopening. I encourage Torontonians to reserve their swim time and take advantage of the City’s outdoor pools and amenities throughout the summer.”
– Mayor John Tory
“I encourage all residents to reserve a swim time at their local pool. It’s a great way to keep cool this summer. The reservation system is a way the City can ensure fairer access to swim times and outdoor pools offer a safe option for people to get exercise.”
– Deputy Mayor Stephen Holyday (Etobicoke Centre)
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