By Staff
January 4th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
People used to say “there must be something wrong with the water” but in Burlington we seem to say “what’s with the swimming pools in Burlington?” They are either closed for repairs or they are being rebuilt.
This time it is the Angela Coughlan Pool next the MM Robinson high school that is closing for renovations; a Public Information Session planned
Angela Coughlan Pool will be closed from March 18, 2019 to the spring of 2020 for renovations. Some pool programs and staffing have been shifted to other locations to help accommodate participation levels across the city.
A public information session is planned for January 16 at Angela Coughlan Pool from 7-9 p.m. Staff and architects will be available to discuss plans and gather feedback.
The renovation project will provide important and necessary repairs and upgrades to the facility. The result will be a more efficient, up-to-date and modern pool facility and will include the following:
• Partial pool deck replacement around the lap pool
• Retiling of the lap-pool deck
• Lap pool tank repairs
• Replace HVAC and upgrade dehumidification system
• New LED lighting
• Plumbing improvements
• Change room renovation
Change Room Renovation
Architectural rendering of planned upgrades to Angela Coughlan pool.
The City of Burlington is working towards providing equal rights, respect and dignity through access and privacy. The new inclusive change space will provide fully private change and/or shower areas for all, removing the need to have designated “Men’s” or “Women’s” changerooms, including:
• Fully private change and shower areas with seating and hooks for hanging personal items
• Common areas open to everyone where clothing is mandatory
The inclusive change space is designed to allow for clear sight-lines down all the isles from the pool deck as well as from the community centre hallway for maximum safety.
The result will do away with the open changeroom concept. All changing will happen in private stalls. All common areas are clothing-mandatory.
Previously, Angela Coughlan had nine private change stalls split between both the Men’s and Women’s changerooms. There will now be 31 private change rooms.
Architectural rendering of planned changes to Angela Coughlan pool, Private change rooms.
Private change areas
The 31 private change areas will include:
• 24 private change areas
• Five private change areas with showers
• Two accessible change stalls with roll in private showers and adult change tables
• Four private washrooms with sinks
Common areas
The common areas will include shared amenities such as:
• Lockers
• Rinse stations
• Sinks and counter space
• Mirrors
• Wall-mounted hair-dryers and bathing-suit spinners
Other municipalities and jurisdictions who have done similar renovations include the Calgary YMCA, Sudbury Valley area, University of Guelph and Saskatchewan schools.
Chris Glenn, Director of Parks and Recreation for the city.
Chris Glenn, Director of Parks and Recreation, describes the new change-room concept as “exciting” – wouldn’t go quite that far. He adds that: “We are fortunate that our pool facilities already have a family/universal changeroom concept where everyone is welcome to use for their own personal comfort. The proposed inclusive change space for Angela Coughlan Pool builds on this concept, allowing everyone to have comfort and privacy while changing. We want to remove any barriers to participation and know that personal comfort is very important to many. This is a new and exciting concept to Burlington that just makes good sense.”
Angela Denise Coughlan
Angela Denise Coughlan, (October 4, 1952 – June 14, 2009) was a Canadian competition swimmer. At the peak of her competitive swimming career from 1968 to 1971, she was the best Canadian female freestyle specialist, going undefeated in freestyle events at Canadian meets during that time, as well as breaking a world record and 13 Canadian records.
As a member of the Canadian national swim team, she anchored the 4×100-metre freestyle and 4×100-metre medley relay teams, and earned both individual and team relay medals at the 1967 Pan American Games, the 1968 Olympics, the 1970 Commonwealth Games and the 1971 Pan American Games.
Named Canadian Female Athlete of the Year in 1970, she retired from competitive swimming in 1972 at the age of 19. Part of her post-competitive career was spent as a swim coach and mentor to younger swimmers.
