POUGHKEEPSIE – Residents will still have pools to swim in despite the pool at Pulaski Park remaining closed this season. The Pulaski Pool is not opening this year while construction continues on the new $2.4 million pool house at the park.
The city has worked with its Poughkeepsie City School District (PCSD) and Dutchess County to create alternative plans to help alleviate the impact of this closure. The PCSD has agreed to allow the city to use the Poughkeepsie Middle School pool for designated lap hours and for swimming lessons. The Poughkeepsie Middle School on College Avenue will be used predominantly for lessons between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday through mid-August. Lesson sign-up sheets will be available at both the Middle School and the Spratt Park pools.
The city will supply the lifeguard staff and any necessary pool treatment chemicals and also will be purchasing an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant lift for installation at the Middle School pool. The Middle School pool also will be available for adult swimming from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday through August 16 when the pool closes for maintenance ahead of the 2023-2024 school year.
Dutchess County will provide free bus service from the Pulaski location to Spratt Pool on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning on July 7, making it easier for residents living near the Pulaski site to get to and from the Spratt Pool. This will be a special route service that will not be making additional stops. The bus will leave Pulaski Park at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Return trips from Spratt Park to Pulaski Park on those days will leave Spratt at 2:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
There is also a fixed-route bus service to take riders from Pulaski Park to Spratt Park. The bus, which requires a fare, has stops at Pulaski Park, the Transit Hub on Market Street, and the corner of Hooker Avenue and Wilbur Boulevard, which is about a .5-mile walk from Spratt Pool.
To further accommodate swimmers, Spratt Pool will be open with fees waived again this year and with expanded hours — from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day. The first two hours will be for lap swimming for adults and competitive level swimmers, with open, recreational swimming commencing at 11:00 a.m. until close. The pool rules can be seen here.
Spratt Pool will remain open until August 25.
The Dutchess County Public Transit website can be found here.
