A WAMU article about a location study for a new pool in Ward 3 (the first for that ward) made me think of chatter about a neighborhood pool. According to DC’s Play DC Master Plan, the goal is for every resident to have an indoor pool within 2 miles, an outdoor pool within 1.5 miles, and a splash pad within 1 mile. 

Play DC Master Plan 7 Elements

Our neighborhood has an indoor pool within 2 miles (Turkey Thicket is just under 1.5 miles and Takoma just makes the cutoff at 2 miles from South Dakota Avenue  and Galloway Street NE). I do not think there is an outdoor pool within 1.5 miles. I know residents who go to the Harry Thomas Recreation Center outdoor pool, which reportedly is very nice and usually not that crowded. There is a spray park at Riggs LaSalle Recreation Center.

There are always lots of questions that come up when a neighborhood pool is mentioned, the first of which is where would one go. I still find it perplexing that the rec center was constructed in 2008 without a pool (or tennis courts or a track for that matter). I do think there are suitable locations in the neighborhood for a public pool. Looking at the Play DC Master Plan, it looks like the area near Walter Reed in Ward 4 is identified as an area that could use access to an outdoor pool and I know residents there have been lobbying for one. Is a neighborhood outdoor pool actually something people are interested in pursuing?