Demand access to DC Pools

[Anonymous]

Why don't Montgomery County residents demand access to DC pools like they demand access to Rockville Pools?

I was looking at this it seems there are more pools per capita in DC than in Montgomery County, I was actually pretty surprised.

Indoor Aquatic Centers in Washington, D.C.

According to the District of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), there are 10 indoor pools across the city. These facilities are free for D.C. residents with a DPR membership and include:

Wilson Aquatic Center (Ward 3)

Takoma Aquatic Center (Ward 4)

Turkey Thicket Aquatic Center (Ward 5)

Deanwood Aquatic Center (Ward 7)

Barry Farm Aquatic Center (Ward 8)

Ferebee Hope Aquatic Center (Ward 8)

Reservoir Park Aquatic Center (Ward 3)

Dunbar Aquatic Center (Ward 5)

Woodrow Wilson Aquatic Center (Ward 3)

Yates Field House at Georgetown University (private facility)
DPR

These centers offer a range of amenities, including competition-sized pools, leisure pools, and diving boards. For instance, the Wilson Aquatic Center features a competition-sized indoor pool with diving boards, a whirlpool, and a leisure pool with a viewing gallery
DPR
.

🏊‍♀️ Indoor Aquatic Centers in Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery County operates several indoor aquatic centers, including:

Germantown Indoor Swim Center (Boyds)

Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center (North Bethesda)

Martin Luther King Jr. Swim Center (Silver Spring)

Olney Swim Center (Olney)

Silver Spring Recreation & Aquatic Center (Silver Spring)

Piney Branch Swim Center (Takoma Park)
Montgomery County Maryland

These facilities are part of the county's recreational offerings, providing residents with access to indoor swimming options.

📊 Comparison Overview
Location Number of Indoor Pools Population (approx.) Pools per 100,000 Residents
Washington, D.C. 10 ~700,000 ~1.4
Montgomery County, MD 6 ~1,000,000 ~0.6

[Anonymous]

What is this alleged 'demand' you are talking about?

[Anonymous]

What exactly are you seeking? Moco residents can access DC pools, they just have to pay a very nominal fee. The same as DC residents trying to access Moco pools.

[Anonymous]

MoCo residents can go to DC pools whenever they like, paying the slightly higher rate for non-residents. I'm confused by the outrage.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure I understand your point, OP. I live in MoCo. I use a pool here because I am a resident. What could I "demand" from DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure I understand your point, OP. I live in MoCo. I use a pool here because I am a resident. What could I "demand" from DC?

It's maybe that you should go swim in DC pools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure I understand your point, OP. I live in MoCo. I use a pool here because I am a resident. What could I "demand" from DC?

It's maybe that you should go swim in DC pools.

Which you can, for a small fee.

I live in DC and we've used pools in the suburbs many times, again paying a fee.

Also, DC has more pools because it has more people close together. This is just a difference in how a city handles public amenities versus a suburb. DC has a bunch of neighborhood rec centers, some including pools, scattered throughout the city. They are intended to be accessible via public transit without a super long commute. They are also often relatively small, with a just a few larger facilities.

In the burbs, planners often assume people have cars. As a result, they will often make larger recreational facilities, and invest money in plenty of parking and assume they will serve people in a broader area. So the pools and gyms and other facilities will be larger than what you might find in DC and accommodate more people at once, but there are fewer facilities overall and they are further apart.

You see the same with schools, libraries, etc. It's just a fundamental difference in city planning based on density, demographics, transit options, etc.

It's weird to assume you are owed access to another municipality's amenities free of charge even though you don't pay taxes there and the facilities were not built with you in mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure I understand your point, OP. I live in MoCo. I use a pool here because I am a resident. What could I "demand" from DC?

It's maybe that you should go swim in DC pools.

It's weird to assume you are owed access to another municipality's amenities free of charge even though you don't pay taxes there and the facilities were not built with you in mind.

Yeah, that's why I don't get the whole RSFC<->MoCo situation with all the people from the county swimming at RSFC.

It does make sense somewhat that the roads eat the pools, but at the same time shouldn't land for pools be cheaper. Again, there are both fewer pools and more people in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

You listed Wilson twice, in Ward 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You listed Wilson twice, in Ward 3.

I'm not sure why the LLM did that there are actually more on the dpr website:

https://dpr.dc.gov/page/indoor-pools


ame Address / Phone Ward Hours of Operation Notes
Marie Reed Aquatic Center

2200 Champlain Street, NW
[phone] 1
Monday - Friday:
6 am - 9 am & 4 pm - 9 pm
Saturday:
10 am - 5 pm
Sunday: Closed

Pools used by DCPS schools close during the day while school is in session
Wilson Aquatic Center 4551 Fort Drive, NW
[phone] 3 Monday - Friday:
6 am - 9 pm
Saturday & Sunday:
10 am - 5 pm
***Starting Monday, September 8, 2025*** The leisure pool and family changing areas will be closed to the public from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday, while DCPS is in session.

Please be advised that during DPR programs, access to the leisure (children) pool may be limited.

DPR Programs take place: Monday – Friday: 8 am – 1 pm & 5 pm – 7 pm; Saturday: 12 pm – 2 pm.

Wilson Leisure pool features zero entry for heightened accessibility

Takoma Aquatic Center

300 Van Buren Street, NW
[phone] 4
Monday - Friday:
6 am - 9 pm
Saturday & Sunday:
10 am - 5 pm

Takoma Children's pool features zero entry for heightened accessibility
Roosevelt Aquatic Center 4301 13th Street, NW
Public Entrance on Upshur Street NW
[phone] 4 Currently closed *Pools used by DCPS schools close during the day while school is in session
Turkey Thicket Aquatic Center 1100 Michigan Avenue, NE
[phone] 5 Monday - Friday:
6 am - 9 pm
Saturday:
10 am - 5 pm
Sunday:
Closed
Hot Tub Hours:
Monday & Friday: 7 am - 9 pm
Tuesday & Thursday: 6 am - 9 pm
Wednesday: 6 am - 8 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 4 pm

Features zero entry for heightened accessibility

Dunbar Aquatic Center 101 N Street, NW
[phone] 5 Currently closed Pools used by DCPS schools close during the day while school is in session
Reservoir Park Aquatic Center 10 Lower Service Court, NW 5
Monday - Friday:
12 pm - 8 pm
Saturday:
10 am - 5 pm
Sunday:
Closed

Features zero entry for heightened accessibility
William H. Rumsey Aquatic Center

635 North Carolina Avenue, SE
[phone] 6 Monday - Friday:
6 am - 9 pm
Saturday:
10 am - 5 pm
Sunday:
Closed
Deanwood Aquatic Center 1350 49th Street, NE
[phone] 7 Monday - Friday:
6 am - 9 pm
Saturday:
10 am - 5 pm
Sunday:
10 am - 5 pm
Water Slide hours:
Monday - Friday: 3 - 5 pm & 7 - 9 pm
Saturday: 1 pm - 4 pm
Please be advised that the slide is offline during DPR Programming.

Features zero entry for heightened accessibility

H.D. Woodson Aquatic Center 540 55th Street, NE
[phone] 7 n/a - DCPS use only
Joy Evans Therapeutic Aquatic Center 3030 G Street, SE
[phone] 7 Monday - Friday:
6:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday:
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday:
Closed
Ballou Aquatic Center 3401 4th Street SE 8 Currently closed Pools used by DCPS schools close during the day while school is in session
Barry Farm Aquatic Center

1230 Sumner Rd, SE
[phone] 8 Monday - Friday:
6 am - 9 pm
Saturday:
10 am - 5 pm
Sunday:
10 am - 5 pm Features zero entry for heightened accessibility
Ferebee-Hope Aquatic Center 700 Yuma St, SE
[phone] 8
Tuesday - Friday:
12 pm - 8 pm
Saturday:
10 am - 5 pm
Sunday & Monday:
Closed

Features zero entry for heightened accessibility

[Anonymous]

It the same as it is everywhere else - non-residents pay a higher fee to use the pool:

https://www.rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/49825/Rockville-Swim-and-Fitness-Center-Fee-Schedule-effective-10-1-24

Not sure what the point is here.

[Anonymous]

OP, you truly are stupid

[Anonymous]

DEMAND!!!

Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure I understand your point, OP. I live in MoCo. I use a pool here because I am a resident. What could I "demand" from DC?

It's maybe that you should go swim in DC pools.

It's weird to assume you are owed access to another municipality's amenities free of charge even though you don't pay taxes there and the facilities were not built with you in mind.

Yeah, that's why I don't get the whole RSFC<->MoCo situation with all the people from the county swimming at RSFC.

It does make sense somewhat that the roads eat the pools, but at the same time shouldn't land for pools be cheaper. Again, there are both fewer pools and more people in MoCo.

What is the "whole RSFC<->MoCo situation?"

[Anonymous]

Well, to start with, did you realize, OP, that Rockville is actually IN Montgomery County?


DC is a completely different state — for practical purposes. Fortunately, we tend to play nice in the area, so, as many others have pointed out, you’re welcome to visit our pools for a small fee. “Demanding” however, won’t go over well. Actually, maybe you could try it, and report back to us. Go to each one of the pools you listed, and DEMAND access — and let us know how it went.

Why did you include Georgetown on the list? There are certainly other colleges and private facilities in both DC and Montgomery County that also have pools.