Construction of new Maple Leaf Pool to begin this week

While the City of Regina has taken steps to protect residents from COVID-19, it also is looking past the pandemic.

That’s why construction on the new Maple Leaf Pool is set to begin this week.

“Construction on infrastructure has to continue on,” Mayor Michael Fougere said during a media conference at City Hall. “We have to build our city and move forward but in a way that is safe for those working on the site but also ensuring that we meet our commitment to actually have this pool built.

“We’ll get through this on the other side and we’ll have infrastructure for our inner-city communities that can use Maple Leaf Pool in a way that we said we would do.”

The city approved a $4.5-million plan to build the pool in October, then added another $880,000 to the budget in February.

In a media release, the city said the decision to start construction now “was done with careful consideration.”

The city relied on the input of area residents to determine the importance of the pool in the community, so the decision to proceed was made.

Precautions will be taken to protect the workers on site and residents in the area from the potential spread of the virus.

“Additional safety measures and site monitoring will be in place to ensure a safe work environment for contractors,” the city’s release said. “Some measures include appropriate physical distancing between workers on site, adherence to hand-washing protocols, additional cleaning of shared surfaces and personal protective equipment.”

Westridge Construction has been contracted to build the pool.