Baltimore's Lake Clifton Pool will open to public Friday
BALTIMORE -- Lake Clifton Pool will be open to the public starting on Friday, according to city officials.
Lake Clifton Pool is one of three pools that have remained closed due to ongoing repairs.
The Cherry Hill and Patterson Park pools are still undergoing repairs.
Baltimore City Councilman Zeke Cohen has been pushing for the three closed public pools to reopen.
"When we think about what actually prevents violence from occurring before it happens, having safe places for our young people to be is mission critical," Cohen said.
Baltimore residents agree.
Having a summer pool option helps keep children in the community active and out of trouble.
"The pool is usually a safe area," said Donte Reed, who lives in Cherry Hill. "Places like the pool or the park or basketball court, a safe area where the kids can go and not get into too much trouble. Something to look forward to, it's not really too much to look forward to in places like this."
Aysa Hubbard, who also lives in Cherry Hill, had high hopes for the community's outdoor pool to be open this summer.
Instead, she remains disappointed.
"It hasn't been open all summer," Hubbard said. "I moved here before the summer so I thought they were working on it and preparing it for the summer, but there's been no updates."
Eager swimmers have resorted to breaking into pool facilities.
Last month, 16-year-old Oshayne Stephens was pulled out of the water at the Hampden neighborhood pool when it was closed and operating under weekend-only hours.
Three weeks later the teenager died, according to authorities.
Mayor Brandon Scott addressed the drowning Wednesday when defending some temporary pool closures.
"We know we had a truly tragic incident at one of our pools," Scott said. "Safety is a big issue. It is unsafe to have pools open that are in need of a significant repair."
