ShovelsinthegroundthisspringforSpaniPoolupgrade

Swimmers will be able to jump into Coquitlam’s updated Spani Pool next spring

Last Monday (Feb 13), city council unanimously OK’d the final design to renew the 50-year-old tank, which is located on the western side of Mundy Park at 655 Hillcrest St

The upgrade means Spani Pool won’t be in use this year as construction is due to start in a couple of months

Ted Uhrich, Coquitlam’s acting manager of parks and facility planning, told the TriCity News that the renewal was supposed to be done by this spring; however, during the design planning, “consultants with expertise in pool construction recommended a modified construction schedule to allow the pool finishes to be completed in dry, warm weather to ensure the best final product,” he said “The new schedule will lead to a superior product and be more cost effective overall”

Uhrich declined to reveal the price tag for the expansion as the city is now out for tenders, but in 2021 the city reported the new pool would cost about $18 million That year, the provincial and federal governments kicked in $4 4 million a grant contingent on the project incorporating cultural elements of the Kwikwetlem First Nation

Lanny Englund, Coquitlam’s general manager of parks, recreation, culture and facilities, said the city will include paving treatments at Spani to tell the Nation’s history

According to a city report, the modernized pool will be accessible and environmentally friendly and include:

• a new leisure pool with a shallow beach entry, a splash area, a lazy river and a 1 2 m deep end

• a new and separate warming pool

• the existing lap tank, which has eight 25 m swimming lanes and a dive tank, plus a new access ramp

The city has also moved the pick-up and drop-off area further south

Englund estimates the pool update will mean a doubling of drop-in participants, as well as a 50 per cent jump in the number of lessons and courses And the new pool washrooms will be available for Mundy Park users all year round, he said There will also be an 80 per cent reduction to greenhouse gases with the update Still, 32 trees will be cut around the site, though the large Douglas Firs on the eastern side of the pool will stay Uhrich said 25 of the 32 trees slated to be chopped are under 12” in diameter “many of which are in poor condition,” he said