Greenaway Pool

We drove past Greenaway Pool tonight and noticed its filled with fresh water. As opposed to the murky water that sits in the pool from September to May every off season, a holding place for the rain, leaves, and dirt that blow in.

The pool is located in Greenaway Park on 60th Avenue just east of Fraser Downs.

The pool was constructed in the late 60's. Its free to swim here and during the 70's it was often open for public swimming. When I was in Grade 5 or 6 at Cloverdale Elementary our class would walk over to the pool during June and go swimming. This was good for a few hours away from class during the hot weather. It was during this time that the boys discovered if they sat on the hill above the pool they could see into the girl's change room.

Swimming lessons were held during the summer months. Different levels known as Floater, Stroaker, Junior, Intermediate.

Greenaway Pool was COLD. I swore each morning a dumptruck filled with ice cubes dumped its load into the pool. I hated taking lessons here for that reason. Cold, cold, cold.

I rarely swam here other than lessons, though occasionally a few of us got together for a swim.

By the 80's Greenaway Pool was rarely open. Over the past 15 years when I've driven past the pool during hot summer days, it is closed. No one's in the pool. I have no idea why other than budget cutbacks paying lifeguards. Even though I see the pool has fresh clean water, a quick check of Surrey's website confirms the pool is closed, no opening date listed.

The other amazing thing is that on Labour Day the swimming pool is always drained empty. You'd think on the last day of summer the city could pay the lifeguards one more day to allow swimmers to enjoy Greenaway Pool one more time.

With all the hot weather we've recently been experiencing, that pool would be full of patrons if it was open. Perfect weather for enjoying a pool that isn't heated.

And let's not forget the people who climb over the fence when the pool is closed and go for a swim anyway. Well, what else is one to do. How disappointing to put on your swimsuit, grab a towel, walk one mile on a hot day, only to discover the pool is closed. About 10 years ago Kerry was driving home at night and saw 3 young men swimming in the pool. One of them was on the roof getting ready to jump into the pool from the improvised high diving platform. They were skinny dipping. Kerry called the police to let them know, but he thought it was pretty funny the naked men were making a lot of noise and making it pretty obvious they were in there. Memo for people sneaking into the pool at night to skinnydip: do it quietly.

It would be nice to see Greenaway Pool open for decent hours. With the influx of new development in the area and lots of families moving into new subdivisions, surely the City of Surrey could extend the hours, and post the hours so people know when the pool is open.