Parks & Rec gears up for first set of ADA-mandated rec center closures

For some time, Durham's Parks & Recreation department has encouraged residents to get out and "play more" in their community as part of their marketing campaigns.

Come the end of December, the department will be asking residents to "play elsewhere" in some cases -- and, under consideration, the possibility they might be able to "play later" with their pre-paid aquatic passes... but not a refund of those fees.

After approval of the largely 2005 CIP bond-funded effort by City Council earlier this fall, Parks & Rec staff are gearing up for significant closures at the Edison Johnson aquatic and recreation centers, the W.D. Hill Recreation Center, and the Weaver Street Recreation Center.

The closure of the Edison Johnson indoor pool has attracted some of the most public interest -- including some resident concerns expressed at a recent Partners Against Crime District 2 meeting, and in emails to BCR -- since it takes the City's public pool inventory down from two indoor facilities to just one until early summer.

"This is bond improvement work that we have been waiting for for several years," said Audrey Gill, Durham's manager of recreation and aquatic centers. "The number one thing is [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliance upgrades," Gill said.

Those upgrades come in the wake of a city government settlement with the Department of Justice four years ago over accessibility concerns alleged by the feds at municipal facilities; the settlement has driven everything from sidewalk improvements and curb cuts to significant building and facility renovations.

And while locker rooms, bathrooms and hallways will be some of the major improvements to facilitate access by persons with disabilities, visitors will notice other changes to the facilities, including new flooring, improved heating and air conditioning, and other niceties.

In the case of Edison Johnson's aquatic center, there won't be any changes to the swimming pool itself.

At October's PAC 2 meeting, some residents raised the concern about having prepaid for pool access only to find that their primary aquatics center at Edison Johnson would be closed.

Some asked Parks & Rec for the possibility of a refund. Gill brought the idea back from the PAC 2 meeting, but after consulting with staff, "a refund wouldn't be an option," Gill said.

The postponement of expiration dates for Play More cards and passes is an alternative, Gill said, "but that hasn't been decided yet. But it wouldn't be a refund per se -- if anything, it would just be like a hold."

The main alternative for Parks & Rec users at this point: the Campus Hills rec center pool in south Durham. "That's where all of the swimmers can go during this closure period," Gill said. "All of their passes and everything will be accepted there."

Still, pool lane access will seem to be at a premium, with half of the City's swimming lanes out of operation from December 20 through June 1.

The closure of three recreation centers at once also adds its own challenges, but Gill noted that the Holton Center is now available; the onetime public school in East Durham reopened containing a rec center, vo-tech school and wellness clinic this summer.

About half of Edison Johnson and W.D. Hill's rec center programs will go to the Holton Center, with the other half heading to Campus Hills.

"We're saving as many programs as we can; there's very few that are actually having to be discontinued during the closure," Gill said.

While some might assume that private gym users might switch over to public rec centers more in today's recessionary climate, increasing usage at a time of facility closures, "we haven't seen any dramatic changes" in usage in the current recession, Gill said.

And as challenging as the simultaneous closure of three rec centers will be for some users, Gill noted that the situation could have been more impactful.

"Originally, actually, they wanted to do all of the rec centers -- all of them" at once, Gill said. "And we talked them doing to just doing these four at one time," Gill said.

General Services is managing the project for the City.

"In the future, there'll be more sites going down," thanks to the federal mandate and the bond improvement package, Gill added, though it was not year clear when the next phase of rec center renovations would begin.

Above all else, Parks & Rec asks that residents be patient during the closures.

"While it may be a short inconvenience, in the long run it's going to be great for the patrons once everything's reopened," noted DPR public information officer Cynthia Booth. "We just ask that people are patient with us, and that they use the other recreation centers where the programs are taking place, and that they continue to consider Parks & Recreation as a viable place for their recreation needs."

The combined bundle with construction manager at risk Skanska will cost taxpayers almost $3.6 million, half of which will go to Edison Johnson's rec center and aquatic center. 70% of the funding comes from the 2005 bond issue; recreation payments in lieu of facilities and the city's ADA/DoJ settlement fund and capital improvement program fund are picking up the remainder of the tab.

Comments

[Todd P]

I hate to see Edison Johnson closed for so long. Although I understand the need for the ADA upgrades, it is already a pretty darn nice facility.

The fact that Durham Parks & Rec has just 2 indoor pools for a city our size is just another example of where Durham has missed the boat on investing in building infrastructure to benefit quality of life for Durham residents. Another couple cents on the tax rate the past 10-15 years could have made a real difference in building additional facilities like indoor pools.

[TH]

Edison Johnson's pool does have an zero entry but Campus Hill's does not (unless it was added since last summer). I understand why the upgrades are needed.... it's just unfortunate that Campus Hill's pool doesn't have a zero entry for those folks who might need it while Edison is closed.

[Toby]

I wonder whether Parks and Rec looked into the possibility of arranging access to the pool at the downtown Y for current pass-holders during the construction period. Perhaps an email to Audrey dot Gill at durhamnc dot gov would be in order? (I would, but I'm not an indoor swimmer, so wouldn't know the right questions to ask.)