The McCrehan pool on Rindge Avenue opened on June 27 and will remain open until August 16, according to DCR’s current plans. It’s looking much better than it has for a while.
Ken King, the manager of the pool, has been very proactive about improving security and conditions at the pool. He worked with me last summer to get fencing fixed to reduce intrusions in the pool at night. Then he worked with me and a group of neighbors to develop a punch list of improvements for the pool.
Samantha Overton Bussell, DCR’s director of Urban parks, responded wonderfully to the punch list. Thanks to the efforts of her team, the pool opened this year with substantial improvements:
- Full exterior paint and interior — graffiti gone
- Reconstruction of the entrance way to allow better surveillance by management
- Roof leaks fixed
- Floors resurfaced (they are so smooth they are slippery now, so there is an open item for rubber mats)
- Hot water fixed (electric heater replaced gas heater that may have lost service due to last year’s work on Rindge avenue)
- New auto-shut-off shower heads
- Pool leaks repaired
- Vortex drain covers installed
- Pool ladders repaired
- New toilet flush mechanisms that will be easier for the kids to use consistently are an open item that we understand will be coming soon.
DCR staff have been in communication with the City of Cambridge and the State Police to get ahead of security concerns at the pool. So far, with the cool weather, crowds have been light and security has not been an issue.
The main outstanding concern is keeping the pool open past the early planned closing date of August 16. The Cambridge City Council and several of us in the legislative delegation are working to find a way to keep the pool open through August.
Glad to hear you favor keeping it open between August 16 and Labor Day. Those weeks can be the hottest of the year, and keeping the pool open would benefit North Cambridge residents greatly!
I hadn’t realized that this was a DCR pool. That means anyone can go. Given that Belmont’s pool is in such sad shape, would this be a viable option?
I am grateful for the attention to this much used and often battered looking resource. Keeping it open at least through August would be terrific with schools not open until after Labor Day and so many kids with no camp or other activities those last hot weeks of summer.
Update to readers on the closing date issue: No progress. We who would like to see this happen have been slowed down a bit by statistics from prior years suggesting the usage drops substantially in the cooler weather in the last half of August. We haven’t abandoned the cause, but the stats are not helping us.