I was dismayed to learn of the Park District of Oak Park’s plan to demolish the beloved, 50-meter outdoor pool at Ridgeland Common (RC) in order to build an indoor 25-yard pool on the same site.
I am an avid swimmer, both indoors and out; I would love to have an indoor park district pool, but if it comes at the cost of getting rid of the Ridgeland Common outdoor pool, it is not worth it.
Anyone who has been to the RC pool on a summer day knows it is a special place. It’s a true community good where young and old enjoy the sunshine and water. Swimming outdoors in warm weather is more fun, more inviting to non-swimmers, and generally better for your lungs.
The park district claims that the Ridgeland Common pool shell is “nearing the end of its use.” Is it their understanding that, like an aging 1950s starlet, once a pool passes 60 it must fade away? Pools age — but that’s why we maintain them. We don’t just bulldoze old structures, especially in Oak Park.
This referendum is a plan to take away swimming space from village residents rather than add to it. I’m going to vote “No” on March 17.
Victoria Bolf
Oak Park
