MONTREAL -- While many of Quebec's public pools are re-opening, those in Pierrefonds-Roxboro will remain closed.
Mayor Jim Beis said the threat of COVID-19 remains too high for pools in his borough to be back in business. The mayor, along with the Pools Associations of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, decided the rules outlined by Quebec Public Health would be too difficult to follow.
On May 30, the province gave outdoor pools the green light to re-open, provided physical distancing measures are respected. The government said decisions on whether to re-open would be left to individual municipalities.
Beis said he was concerned that even if pools did open, the public would be too worried about COVID-19 to show up given that lessons and other services remain banned.
“Membership now doesn't provide any additional services, just free swim,” he said. “You'd have to call in advance and register and the logistics of running the pools... All of that helped us to make the decision together.”
Beaconsfield's Windermere Pool sent members a survey asking if they'd come back this summer if they had to book 45-minute visits in advance, with no bathroom access and no gathering on the pool's deck. Many respondents said they would prefer to buy their own backyard pools.
Club Piscine Pierrefonds manager Matthew Lemire said demand for pools has doubled this year.
“It's just going to entice people more to get a pool in their backyard,” he said. “It's going to be challenging to cope with all this response. It's been demanding but we have had a lot of places and we're the only retail store open lately. We're trying to do what we can.”
In Cote-St-Luc, pools are scheduled to re-open in August while Montreal West will also re-open their pools with some restrictions. Lachine and Pointe-Claire officials have both said they hope to re-open but haven't announced any details.
