As part of Regina’s new Wascana Pool, which is set to open in 2023, city residents will be able to enjoy a number of new features including a lazy river, climbing wall and waterslides.
With the waterslides, however, comes discussions on accessibility.
At Wednesday’s executive council meeting, councillors debated on the installation of three separate options to provide accessibility to high waterslides at the pool, including a stairlift, a ramp or an elevator.
After discussion, the city voted unanimously to install the elevator over the other options.
“Anything when it comes to accessibility… we are always trying to do better and today was a really cool day when we as a community and we as a council came together to do something that has never been done before,” said councillor Terina Nelson after the decision was made.
Nelson, whose daughter uses a wheelchair, has been a vocal advocate for more accessibility around the city. She said the decision to implement the elevator is amazing for not only kids, but parents as well.
“Not everybody has a platform like this,” she said when talking about her role on city council. “It was always a fight for other people, not just my daughter. It’s for the little guys who are five, six years old who want to use the waterslide.”
The elevator will be placed directly beside the waterslide tower, with an additional pathway to the tower on the ground.
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According to the city, one of the benefits of an elevator is allowing the stairs to remain unaffected while still offering accessibility to those who need it.
“It is hard not to feel good about a community where everyone can feel included and that they can participate,” said Regina mayor Sandra Masters.
The stairlift was the cheapest option for the city with a capital cost of $392,000 and an annual operating cost of $27,000.
The elevator will have a capital cost of $555,000 and an annual operating cost of $27,000.
The most expensive, however, is the ramp, with a capital cost of $601,000 and an annual operating cost of $25,500.
Capital costs include design, construction, and contingency. Operating costs include staffing, maintenance and utilities.
The city said there wasn’t an option for a fully accessible high waterslide anywhere in Canada or the world when the pool was being designed. However, the city found a fully accessible high waterslide at an indoor facility at Panorama Recreation Centre in British Columbia. It was discussions with them that helped shape the designs for the Wascana Pool.
“If it takes a few years to get done, that’s okay,” Nelson said. “It is getting done and it’s the first in the world. It was a wonderful day today.”
While the pool is set to open this summer, the timeline for the wheelchair elevator is not finalized. City council will need to fully approve the decision at a later date but city administration said the latest it would be installed is 2025.
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