A resident wrote in wondering if there was a need for Truman College to open their swimming pool to the public and wanted to gauge the support in the community. Currently, the only options are Gill Park and Welles Park. If Truman opened their pool to this section of Uptown, it would be more convenient. If this is something that interests you, let us know in the comments. You can also email the reader interested in organizing this at epabear@mindspring.com
Truman College pool should be open the the public.
ReplyDeleteThere is, however, another option too. There is a Park District pool maintained at Joan Arai School, now called Uplift School, at 900 West Wilson.
The Joan Arai School definately needs better hours for community use given that taxpayers pay to maintain it via their Park District real estate tax assessment.
Contact: (312) 742-7709 or the Clarendon Park Fieldhouse staff
Family Swim Hours:
M,T,W,Th,F 8-8:45pm Sat 1-2pm
Open Swim Hours: T,Th 5-6
I would absolutely be in support of that. I love to swim and live close by. Please keep posting on UU if there is any movement on this.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, if you are in support of this, please email Dean at the email listed in this posting. He can give you more information on the next course of action.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI personally abhor swimming, too much like bathing, yet I understand some people do enjoy it.
I personally would abhor anyone I know seeing me in a swim suit, but I support anyone with the abs to still be seen in public.
ReplyDeleteseems we have a troll or two on the board, trying to make swimmers look evil now, of all things.
ReplyDeletethat being said, this evil swimmer supports the idea of opening the pool to the public.
Doesn't Chase park have a pool?
ReplyDeleteChase Park (Lawrence & Ashland) has a full sized swimming pool. I can see it from my balcony; it seems to be well maintained and very popular in the summer. There are also Tennis Courts, a track and a playground. Just throwing that out there, it's much closer than Welles Park. There is also a VERY active new park board (see the new Raven festival this summer) that is working to get new facilities in the park and improve the existing facilities. Granted, this isn't "technically" Uptown because it falls in Ward 47 (thank goodness)... but it's as close as you can get without swimming with Helen! :-) I believe there is a huge streetscaping project that is supposed to be hitting Clark this summer too, according to Alderman Schulter.
ReplyDeleteWow! Great responses so far...please keep them coming and contact me at epabear@mindspring.com if you have the time and interest in sitting down together to brainstorm and to approach these facilities.
ReplyDeleteTruman College came to mind first because of several reasons--it is easily-accessible by EL, several bus lines, and foot; security is there and it's on a relatively-busy traffic and commercial corridor with lots of students around; it appears to be well-maintained and under-utilized; it's indoors, which permits year-round use; and since it's part of the Chicago City Colleges system, we pay for it with our taxes, too.
Chase Park does have a nice pool, but it's only open during summer months and it sees heavy use during open swims/family swims...not very conducive to lap swimmers. Uplift School is another option, but I have gotten impressions from various people that there are safety concerns around the building and that its pool may not be very well maintained.
Just some thoughts. Any others? What are the interests? Family swims? Lap swimming? Swimming lessons for adults and/or children? Water aerobics? What concerns are there? Safety? Staffing? Who can we line up for partners to work with non-Park District facilities? Park District? YMCA? Let's hear more from you.
I am very interested in having the Truman College pool open to the public. I currently swim laps at Gill Park and take my toddler to swim at Welles Park (we will try Chase Park once the summer season begins). But Truman College would be much closer and more convenient. Things I would be interested in include lap swim, family swim, and kids' swimming lessons.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any tips for organizing, but I'll e-mail Dean.
Well since some of us property tax payers are footing a portion of the bloody bill for their soon to be parking lot, they should at least throw the community a bone.
ReplyDeleteThat way no matter how cold or hot it is outside, the kids in this community have something healthy and positive to do after school.
I did not realize that Truman had a pool! It would be great to be able to lap swim there, especially in the evenings and on the weekends. I go to Chase pool in the summer (a nice pool with a strange schedule), but it would be nice to have place to swim year round.
ReplyDeleteNot to throw cold water on this idea but it was tried several years ago.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the pool was taken over by gangs and Couraj.
I know the pool has been used for a children's swim team practice, so at least some community groups have access.
ReplyDeleteI think the main problem would be funding for staffing the area. The pool isn't in Truman's main building, and there are frequently no Truman staff in the gym/pool area. Who would pay for the lifeguards and security staff?
If the money could be found, pool access for all would be great!
Did EPA Bear "call" the Truman administration and or City Colleges of Chicago and inquire about this possibility before posting this entry?
ReplyDeleteSeems that what we have here is speculation that Truman might open up its pool, but no hints or offers that this might even be a remote possibility.
Welles and Gill are not the only pools in the area. Someone mentioned Chase, but there are also Ys on Irving and Lincoln, and likely some other Ballys that have them, too.
But the question, "Should The Truman College Pool Be Open to the Public?" seems rhetorical, at best.
My gut feeling is that the City Colleges would say "no." There is too much liability involved for letting in anyone other than registered students and faculty.
Who is/are the primary users of the pool at Truman? Do they have swim classes or something? I sometimes see, what looks like a school bus, parked nearby....does a high school or some other school use it for practice or maybe the bus is completely unrelated.
ReplyDeleteback to quesiton--what group uses the pool currently?
I think EPABear wants to gauge community interest before approaching Truman. If Truman is interested in opening the pool to residents, then the details could be worked out.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought: Truman is getting a HUGE chunk o' change for its parking structure from residents, in the form of a TIF contribution. What if some of that money, just a tad, went to opening up the pool to people who are funding the TIF?
The Truman college pool "appears underutilized."
ReplyDeleteLet's first get some facts regarding this supposition, not speculation.
My friend coaches local high school water polo teams at this pool. Just fyi to people talking about how the pool is currently being utilized.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the pool was taken over by gangs and Couraj.
How does a gang take over a pool?? Do they run around it and not listen to the lifeguard? And what is Couraj?
You may find the following link of interest as there is an article about the exercise facilities and pool at Truman. Can't say that it looks promising right now, but things may change if they actually get someone hired to oversee the facility...
ReplyDeletewww.trumancollege.cc/documents/UptownExchange.pdf
"Should The Truman College Pool Be Open To The Public?"
ReplyDelete"Well, yes," most people would respond.
"Will Truman College open its pool to the public?"
Of course not.
I believe the Irving Park Y kids swim team uses the Truman pool a couple of times a week. Important as I believe kids swim teams are, this is not a public group.
ReplyDeleteRe other options: As a pretty serious masters swimmer, I agree that there are a few other options in Uptown (note that the Irving Park and Lincoln Ys are a good distance away and you have to join the Y to swim) but that they are inadequate. Gill Park lap swim is generally so crowded that a decent workout is impossible. I have not been to Chase, but the city's outdoor pools are generally oriented towards open rather than lap swim (although this might be a point to press with the park district staff this summer...)
In my mind, the question is not "is Truman waiting for someone to call up and ask for the pool to be opened to the public," since the answer is presumably no, but "what would be needed to provide pool access for the public at Truman" and "who is interested enough to work to try to assemble those things" which I assume is the original poster's idea. (I have emailed you, Dean).
"[W]hat would be needed to provide pool access for the public at Truman" and "who is interested enough to work to try to assemble those things."
ReplyDeleteThat would have been much more sensible wording for beginning this post.
I think the idea is genuis. Living closer to Uplift, I would really like to see their hours expanded. I did not even know they had a pool until I read this post..
ReplyDeleteThe Uplift pool is run by the Park District's Clarendon Park staff and using Park District budget. Suggested changes can be added to the list of changes to Clarendon Park being proposed by the Clarendon Park advisory council and neighbors. I believe that the Clarendon Community Center Advisory Council meets the last Tuesday of every month at 6:30. Call the Fieldhouse to confirm the time and place at (312) 742-7512
ReplyDeleteThe Park District's Lakefront Region was recently dismantled. The new North Region Manager for the Uptown area is
Brian Loll, North Region 773-262-8658
Brian.Loll@chicagoparkdistrict.com
You may also reach him at the Warren Park HQ 773-761-8674.
I just started swimming at DePaul and would love to be able to walk to Truman to swim daily. I would be willing to pay a small free to support a student job of lifeguard.
ReplyDeleteTher really is no fullsize pool in the neighborood that could be open the hours Truman is
The Truman College swimming pool wasn't built as nor is it available as a public-access swimming pool.
ReplyDeleteThe Metro YMCA was trying to gain control over Truman College's athletic facilities back in 2004 - part of it's attempt to morph into another community fitness provider as it closes its SRO housing facilities.
I think it's time the YMCA lost its charitable tax exemption and competes fairly with other commercial health clubs.
Or - retain their SRO residences.