PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Public pools in Philadelphia — 61 in all — are starting to open for the summer. The pools will open on a rolling basis. Some will be for the first time in years following closures related to the shortage of lifeguards during and immediately after the pandemic.
Bill Salvatore, the deputy commissioner of programs with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, says this year the city has been able to hire enough lifeguards to keep 61 public pools running.
“I mean, it’s been a long time since, prior to the pandemic hitting, that we’ve been able to do this,” Salvatore said. “So we are beyond, beyond happy.”
The city’s goal is to create a place where children can play and cool down this summer where they can also be safe.
Related
“The one thing that we know is there is a gap in programming from the end of school to the start of summer camp. Our camps start in July. So this provides an opportunity for families and kids and loved ones to get together and just have somewhere to go during that down time,” Salvatore said.
They aren’t all opening at once. A handful will open every day through July 5. That process began on Wednesday with the opening of Hunting Park Pool and Samuel Pool in Port Richmond, and the former Mill Creek pool in West Philadelphia.
Find a pool near you
Go to phila.gov for a complete schedule of public pool openings, as well as information about how to find a pool.
A mother's legacy
The Mill Creek Playground has been renamed the Tiffany Fletcher Recreation Center in memory of the Parks and Recreation employee who was killed there last September. And neither pouring rain nor hail on Wednesday could dampen the spirit of the West Philadelphia community who had gathered together to celebrate the official start of swimming pool season and reflect on a life cruelly cut short.
Related
Tiffany Fletcher, a pool maintenance attendant at the recreation center, was killed last September when she was struck by a bullet that was meant for someone else. The mother of three boys was 41 years old.
It’s unspeakable, a mother losing her child.
“She was one of the sweetest, caring, loving — she had a big heart. And she was so sweet,” said Fletcher’s mother Geraldine. “I miss her very deeply. And I thank God for the time that me and her was together. And we’re still together, because she lives in my heart.”
There were tears, but there was also joy and celebration, with the splashes of the first official pool jump of the summer.
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier also announced a $3 million capital improvement project at the site.
A focus on public safety
Parks and Recreation Commissioner Orlando Rendon and Mayor Jim Kenney reflected on Fletcher’s selfless work.
“Today as we open pools and celebrate the start of a safe, fun summer for our children, let us reflect on Tiffany's memory and the legacy she left,” Rendon said.
Salvatore said safety is top of mind, heading into the summer.
Guaranteeing that safety has been a real problem in recent years. The city’s recreation centers have too often been the unfortunate backdrop to a continuing gun violence crisis. But Salvatore says making fun playsites like swimming pools available to kids helps keep public spaces safer.
“At any given time something can happen. I get it. But we’re committed to make sure, while people are here, on the pool deck, that we’re looking out for them.”
With city school out for summer, pools are expected to get crowded very soon.
For those who do not live near one of the city’s pools, the city has opened 93 sprinkler playgrounds, which will be open through Labor Day.
Nine pools remain closed because of construction.
Related
