City of Berkeley Aquatics

There was significant public discourse about public pools around 10-12 years ago, when the warm pool on the BHS campus closed. At the end of the day, it was deemed to be a large public subsidy of an amenity not enjoyed by many, and users were encouraged to join the Y which has 3 pools. I think it is the case that pools are not seen as an essential service of the City of Berkeley, given that many people do use the Y, or the UC pools, if they use pools at all. (Many people don't enjoy swimming in our cool weather.) You certainly could embark on a political process to gain more support for more hours, or you could join the Y or buy passes to the Albany/El Cerrito/Oakland public pools. I'll just add that believe it or not, some apt complexes in Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond actually have their own pools. You may want to move if pool access is significantly important to you.

In terms of immediate options: King Pool, Albany Pool, the Berkeley Y -- depending on your work schedule one or the other should have hours that help you. For me the Y is the best option day-to-day because it has long hours, though I also use the other pools.

In terms of the long term -- increasing the parcel tax to pay for more hours at the pool seems like a good idea. The amount charged per swim doesn't cover the costs of keeping the pools open. There was a measure about 6 years ago that failed, but maybe if there are people with energy it could be revived.

This is a good question.  I agree that it seems crazy that Berkeley has such a dearth of pools that can actually be accessed by its residents compared to El Cerrito or Albany that share our cool climate.  I recently visited the public pool in El Cerrito and a group of us who were there (all Berkeley residents) discussed how sad it was that Berkeley doesn't have anything that is comparable (big pool, clean locker rooms, parking lot).  I think those with the time and inclination should look into putting a measure on the ballot for a parcel tax to increase hours at the existing pools AND to reopen the closed pool at Willard.  A similar measure failed several years ago but I think that it failed because the backers insisted on including funding to build and operate a warm pool as well as funding to keep the Willard pool operating.  I think (but obviously don't know for sure) that enough voters believed that a warm pool, though a nice idea, was something that was too expensive and designed to serve too few people, and that belief was what doomed the measure.  Perhaps another measure that focused only on basic outdoor pools would succeed.

We have discovered Lake Anza at Tilden Park and it's absolutely gorgeous there (not for swimming laps, though)

El Cerrito, Richmond, and Oakland are where the city-run pools are. This is a good article:

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/03/15/first-person-best-lap-swim-pools…

Many people tried to keep Willard Pool open. You might want to look through news archives and read about it. 

http://www.berkeleyside.com/search_gcse/?q=willard%20pool

Some people suggested that the councilperson from that district was disliked and the other councilpeople closed the pool to get back at him. Who knows? It certainly is expensive to run a pool. It takes a lot of energy to keep all that water warm enough. Although it seems like an investment in solar (like Temescal Pool) would help tremendously. I see pools as a wonderful amenity and good thing for community. I would be happy to pay to keep them open. And it seems silly to keep West Campus Pool warm for 24 hours and then just have it open for a few hours. 

As a member of the community, you can join the UC Berkeley RSF for a reasonable monthly rate and get unlimited access to all of their pools, which do have early morning and evening hours. If you don't fall into any of the special categories (alumni, for instance), it is about $75/month. If you swim daily, it is a really good deal. (You also get access to the gym and all exercise classes.) The single-use price for UC's Golden Bear pool just went up from $5 to $10, which is still not too bad. (Also I think the official population of Berkeley is less than half of what you stated in your post, but it can feel overpopulated when trying to swim laps in a crowded pool!)

The campus pools of Cal Berkeley are numerous and hours are reasonable. I think campus pools are very affordable even for community members not affiliated with the university (entry fee of $5 and parking is $1/hr). For example, Strawberry Canyon pool has open swim from 12-6pm and it's more than just a lap pool (lawn space, kids shallow area, locker rooms)...

My adult children both learned to swim at Willard pool and Strawberry (UC) pool. Willard pool has been inoperable for many years and Strawberry costs $10 for adults and $5 for children plus $1.00 hour parking. That is over $20 for me and my two young grandchildren. This is $100 a week M-F plus parking. Too much for my budget. The adult fee went up $4.00 this last year. That's quite a jump in cost. Why isn't the pool more affordable for Berkeley residents and why isn't there a summer card which gives a significant discount for adults. (There is a $70 summer card for kids.)

sage linda spatz

Hello swimmer,

I hear you. Two public pools (West Campus and next to King Middle School) isn't great, but there are many options close by.  The closing of the pool at Willard Middle school  some years back was a bummer. What is being done to reopen it, I don't know.  Measure C  that was placed on the ballot in 2010 failed. The cost to upgrade it was $2.5 million 7 years ago and is probably more now. You might check with the City and see what is going on. Why not start a "go fund me" or "kickstarter" campaign to raise money to have Willard fixed and reopened or to hire more staff at West Campus.?   Or start the work to get a measure on the City's ballot again for up grading Willard.

If you really want to swim and have a choice of places, you will need to leave Berkeley to do so. But you won't have to go far. Both Albany, El Cerrito and Oakland have many pools that anyone can use.  The outdoor pool in Oakland's Temescal neighborhood is decent and has lap swimming 5 days a week starting at 6:30 am.  These pools can all be access via AC Transit buses (so you don't need to "drive out of town" to swim). And finally, have you considered getting a basic YMCA membership so you could use one of the 3 pools there? 

So having only two public pools in Berkeley for the 1121,480 households (2010 census which doesn't count students) isn't ideal, but folks make it work.   

I've raised 3 kids in south Berkeley, and I've lived here more than 30 years. My two older kids were able to swim at Willard pool in the summer, and it was cheap, fun, and walking distance, albeit shared with a shower program for the homeless. Willard pool is now filled with dirt because the city council has decided it's too expensive to repair and maintain. So no swimming for my youngest or for any other kid in the south part of Berkeley, homeless or no. The kids in north Berkeley have King pool. I'm told we in south Berkeley have other alternatives - we can pay to swim at the Berkeley YMCA (indoor pools only) or at one of the UC Berkeley pools (not cheap.)  I suppose we could also pay the big bucks to join a club like the Claremont but that's not going to happen. Meanwhile my friends who live in El Cerrito, Albany, Oakland, and Richmond have wonderful public pools for recreational swimming. We've been to birthday parties and school parties at these pools - they are very nice, and not expensive. So why doesn't Berkeley have anything like this?  Even Richmond has a nice pool for its residents but we don't?  It makes Berkeley look like a city that doesn't care about its kids. I recommend writing to the mayor and your city councilperson. Until we let them know we care about this issue, nothing will happen. Here are email addresses: https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Roster.aspx