A Teneriffe local has met with a councillor about his increasing frustration at overcrowded Brisbane City Council pools, which he believes are not being adequately monitored by lifeguards.
Phil Browne is one of several swimmers who have voiced their dissatisfaction to the Village Voice about the pools, with extremely busy peak periods made more congested by private swim groups using the majority of lanes.
In a letter to the council, Mr Browne wrote: “I have swum at Centenary Pool with eight swimmers sharing a lane, where bumping into others is unavoidable. This isn’t calming exercise; it’s a stressful hazard.”
He added that online pool lane availability is not always correct, with swim squads taking lanes advertised as public.
Mr Browne swims at pools all over Brisbane, including the nearby Centenary Aquatic Centre but travelling as far as Sandgate (a 64km trip), Jindalee or Chandler, in search of less crowded facilities.
He would like to see opening hours extended by up to one hour in the morning and evening, and eventually, new pools built.
He is also concerned about a lack of lifeguard supervision.
He said the receptionist at Newmarket Olympic Pool confirmed that there is no lifeguard on duty on the busy period from 5.30–8.00am, just the receptionist themselves who has lifeguard qualifications but is busy with their own duties.
Even when there is a lifeguard on duty, Mr Browne said he often sees them performing other duties which preclude them from being able to provide constant supervision of the pools.
“Lifeguard monitoring at BCC pools… [is] a shameful contrast to the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, a Queensland Government facility at Chandler, where a lifeguard is always stationed beside each of their four pools during all opening hours,” he wrote.
In January, Mr Browne met with Councillor Vicki Howard, who as Civic Cabinet Chair of Community and the Arts Committee is responsible for overseeing council pools.
He said Cr Howard took note of his main concerns and told him council officers would address them in their monthly meeting with pool leaseholders.
