Cedar Rapids Municipal Pools/Aquatic Centers Won’t Open in 2020

Summer 2020 is shaping up to a cruel one, but it will NOT be a cool one.

It's been announced by the Cedar Rapids Parks & Recreation Department that all municipal pools and aquatic centers will not open this summer due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

This includes Bever, Bender, Jones, Ellis, Cherry Hill, and Noelridge Pools and Aquatic Centers. But it's not just going to be the 160,000 annual swimmers and sunbathers who frequent these spots and will be missing their chance to take a dip or soak up some rays. A media release from Cedar Rapids Parks & Recreation Director states "our primary goal is to keep the community safe and we believe that this is the best precaution to take for the summer. We have made the decision early to allow our staff time to find other summer employment and plan for other recreation programs."

The statement above from Cedar Rapids Parks & Recreation Director Scott Hock also noted the department had spent some six weeks reviewing ways to make safe accommodations for users, but these solutions could not be found.

Proper social distancing and the sheer number of users coming into contact with surfaces in the facilities was seen as "problematic" from a life-saving perspective.

The pool was always the go-to place for us as kids, and it's them we feel especially bad for with this news. Another family rite of passage of summer is, hopefully only for this year, out of the picture. It's health and safety for all that is paramount in this decision.