The Vancouver park board is expected to make a splash with a new aquatics strategy for the city.

Park commissioners will vote Monday (December 11) on the strategy and its 10-year plan that calls for three new indoor swimming pools and one outdoor pool.

Since the completion of the Hillcrest Aquatic Centre as a legacy of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, there has not been another public pool built in the city.

The plan provides for: the replacement of the neighbourhood pool at the Britannia Community Centre with a bigger one at an estimated cost of $35 million; a new citywide-destination pool at Connaught Park for $75 million; and construction of a replacement for the Vancouver Aquatic Centre for $70 million.

Under VanSplash: Vancouver Aquatics Strategy, the plan postpones consideration of an earlier recommendation to demolish the Templeton and Lord Byng pools.

With the plan to be considered by the board on December 11, the development of a bigger pool at Britannia will be completed first before consideration of whether or not theTempleton pool is still needed. The city will also wait for the completion of the new pool at Connaught Park before deciding on what to do with the Lord Byng pool.

Residents in South Vancouver will get a new outdoor pool under the plan. According to a staff report to the board, the outdoor pool may be located either at the Killarney Community Centre in Killarney Park or the Marpole Community Centre in Oak Park.

At present, the city has five outdoor pools; these are the Hillcrest, Kitsilano, Maple Grove, New Brighton, and Second Beach pools.

The plan also calls for upgrades to the Kensington pool, with an estimated cost of $2 million to $4 million. Also included in VanSplash are upgrades to outdoor pools and changing rooms at beaches.

The strategy provides a 25-year vision, and a number of other recommendations were not incorporated in the 10-year implementation plan.