Making Waves in the North End of Boston: Poor Pool Design is Sinking the Mirabella
To the Editor:
The Mirabella Pool on Commercial Street in the North End is a gem of a summer outlet for youth and adults. Over the years, the functionality and operations has undergone a variety of changes, including:
1. limited access
2. on-line sign-ups
3. curtailing availability from 7 days to 5 days, theoretically due to lack of lifeguard availability
4. limited lap swim hours where there is more demand than availability etc. Last year lap swim started at 8AM and ran for two hours. All of us in the neighborhood who appreciate and are grateful for this amenity have willingly adjusted our work schedules to accommodate the changes- changing meetings etc. to have access to this very limited schedule. (Swimming laps is not allowed during recreational swim which lasts from 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
But Thursday March 6, 2025, was the last straw. As part of a large-scale construction project moving the activities from the Nazzaro Center to above the Mirabella pool bathhouse a truly uniformed, uninspired and lackluster proposal to change the pool configuration was presented. The cookie cutter proposal was taken from “other pool designs” without consideration of the needs of this particular community and the actual operations of the pools. Where was input from the users of the pool, where were town halls that considered the operations of the pool during the Summer. After presenting the idea and receiving quite a bit of backlash from the many users in the audience, the design firm promised to go back and create more options.
In my opinion design firms conduct due diligence before the proposal. They gather data on usage patterns, functionality, conduct a needs assessment and create a UX group of both users and operators to make sure a 360 view of how the proposed changes would impact all parties. Their pitch was, we’re there making changes to the building and we have the money so why not get it done now. Yes, the pool needs to be upgraded (why not make it year round while you are at it). But let’s do it with consideration of those of us who are most impacted by the changes. State Representative Michlewitz who came to the meeting during these discussions was also surprised by the proposed changes made without discussion or forewarning. He was not aware changes were on the table.
What angers those of us who have been pool users and suffered through the various changes in operations – sometimes mid- season, is the total lack of consideration in the first go around. We asked if they had visited the pool itself, where the input came from and received vague answers. This is unacceptable. If there are changes to be made all parties and factors need to be considered. Shortening the length of the pool to conform to some standard takes away the unique value for those of us who have only 10 hours a week of available lap swim. Reducing the width of the pool to reduce the number of lanes to increase the deck space, increases the congestion, and traffic especially during peak season and heat emergencies. Removing the deep pool and replacing it with another version of a shallow pool changes usage patterns for those of us who need a deeper end for water running, treading water and other more adult usage. Having taught at many facilities, there is a shallow pool and a deep pool. We need a deep pool too!
The pool opens around the end of June and closes Labor Day. It is only open 5 days a week, with 40 hours weekly of recreational swim and 10 hours of lap swim weekly (please come in and line up at 8 a.m. to see if you get one of the 15 lap swim spots or better yet use the outdated online sign-up tool where you’re blocked within a minute of the portal opening 24 hours in advance. What about our neighbors and friends who have fixed hours and miss multiple opportunities to exercise because of this crazy schedule?
This is quite a sad situation. I only wish there was someone in the North End who really cared about the residents enough to do the right thing. We need to take a page from our restaurant owners who amplify their voices and advocate in a conspicuous manner. They seem to get what they want!
Donna Lubrano