To the Editor,
Re: Pool closure criteria hasn’t been explained, Letters, July 7.
I am writing to protest the proposed three-month closure of the Beban swimming pool.
This facility is vital to the health of many seniors in this town who use the pool on a regular basis. It is hard for people of advanced years to swim lengths without stopping. Beban Pool has a shallow end and a ledge at the deep end where they can stop and rest. The only way to rest in the aquatic centre is to cling on to the bulkhead which is uncomfortable and even impossible for some people.
I appreciate that there is a monetary cost to keeping the pool open and that seniors over 80 do not pay to use the facility, but because they do swim and go to the exercise classes they are fitter physically and mentally more alert, have fewer accidents and better balance. None of these facts help your bottom line financially, but surely they should be taken into consideration when closing such a valuable asset for an extended period of time.
E.M. StaniforthNanaimo
