Accessible swimming pool opening soon at Lanspeary Park

Swimming lessons have not been offered at the Lanspeary Park pool since 2015 but they are returning now. So is the pool which closed down in 2022 after city council approved a $3 million dollar replacement.

“A lot of excitement,” said Windsor mayor, Drew Dilkens. “This is our oldest pool. 1950 is when it was originally built.”

The new 5,200-square foot swimming pool on Langlois Avenue replaces Windsor's first municipal pool.

“And you can see it's barrier free now so it's opened up a whole other universe of possibilities for people with mobility restrictions or people who have age related issues.” Dilkens pointed out during Thursday’s first look at the pool which has a capacity of 270 swimmers and is now L-shaped with a beach entry.

“Which is also called a zero depth entry, so that people can gradually get in and wade,” said Jen Knights, the city's director of recreation and culture, who explained that part of the pool can be used to offer learn-to-swim programs for preschoolers, parents, and toddlers.

“Gradually, as the kids grow, move them into lessons that are more suitable for the 25-meter area behind them,” Knights said.

Other programming includes deep and shallow aqua fit classes and leadership classes. There will also be opportunities available for various clubs to use the pool for training.

The pool, with a diving board and picnic table area, is phase one of three. With more city funding, the hope is to construct a new building with changing rooms and add a slide next to the pool.

Ten of the city's pools will open Saturday with a full complement of lifeguards. City officials say their stable has rebounded from a post-pandemic shortage and now has over 220 lifeguards ready to work.

“We've been working hard to gradually build that back up,” Knights said. “We’ve on-boarded 75 staff since the fall. Our team has been working hard to run as many leadership courses as possible. There's been great interest from the community. We're fully ready to go for the summer.”