Katelynd Anderson: Does DC’s pool season really have to be so short?
Across the city, six outdoor public pools closed for the season on Sunday at 6 p.m. as part of a staggered shutdown that continues through Labor Day.
Just 78 days earlier, the city officially welcomed summer with a splash, when DC pools and spray parks opened in earnest. The mayor jumped into the Langdon Park Pool in Ward 5 and spoke about the importance of these community assets; parents and grandparents lathered their kiddos in sunscreen; and the sounds of summer came into full swing.
Katelynd Anderson is a Ward 8 resident.
But 78 days! That’s it? Surely, summer isn’t actually that short. Right?
With summer weather increasingly extending well past Labor Day, why wouldn’t the DC Council and mayor’s office want to keep these community assets open longer? Couldn’t they at least offer an adjusted schedule with weekend hours? After all, while football may be in pre-season mode, fall doesn’t officially start until Sept. 23. I have heard every rationale under the hot DC sun: staffing (most lifeguards are high school students), budget limitations, maintenance issues, assumed lack of usage once school returns, and my personal favorite: “This is just how it has always been.” Good reasons, I suppose, but they’re also problems that could be solved should city leaders put a priority on doing so.
The lifeguard program run through the Department of Parks and Recreation involves a significant investment of both time and resources in terms of training. Why not work to extend that training past Labor Day? Perhaps the number of trained lifeguards would have to grow to support this initiative. If so, wouldn’t that mean a few more jobs and paychecks for DC residents, particularly young adults?
Budget and maintenance are always hindrances, it seems. Of course, we all recognize that there are finite resources. A pie can only be cut into so many slices. However, we also know that priorities ought to reflect the government’s duty to provide for the common good and serve the public. The council and mayor may continuously spar over competing priorities, but not all services ought to be fodder for this fighting. The value of keeping the pools open longer, it seems, should be evident.
The reasoning that early closure “is how it’s always been” seems just plain silly in 2019, and even more ridiculous when speaking about things that involve DC weather. As our summers grow hotter and longer, the conversation about changing the way we view summer needs to have occurred yesterday. Temperatures in the 90s don’t just stop because we turn the calendar to September. And the use of our community resources needs to reflect this.
We are lucky enough to have a wide array of community assets that engage District residents of all ages across all eight wards — just look at the crowds in the water or lounging poolside. Creating these assets required serious investment, and it seems wasteful not to use them to the fullest extent each year. It is my hope that our elected officials and community leaders take the winter months to look at how they can devote more resources to these important areas of engagement and extend the calendar next year. As climate changes, so must we.
Katelynd Anderson is a fundraising professional who describes herself as Decidedly DC, having decided to live in the District back when she first visited at the age of 12. She is a Ward 8 resident and is actively involved with a wide array of DC nonprofits, combining her love of writing, fundraising and the District.
About commentaries
The DC Line welcomes commentaries representing various viewpoints on local issues of concern, but the opinions expressed do not represent those of The DC Line. Submissions of up to 850 words may be sent to editor Chris Kain at chriskain@thedcline.org.
Comments are closed.