According to a recent public opinion survey commissioned by Advocates for Alexandria Aquatics (AAA), roughly two-thirds of Alexandria residents favor the City of Alexandria investing $20 million towards a new 50-meter pool at Chinquapin Rec Center.
In particular, Alexandrians believe a new pool will expand access for local children to learn to swim and allow residents of all ages to use the facility for exercise, rehabilitation and recreation.
"The survey results show that the Alexandria community is committed to improving our aquatics infrastructure," said Bill Rivers, chair of Advocates for Alexandria Aquatics' board of directors. "I am encouraged to see that local residents acknowledge the importance of creating an opportunity for every child in Alexandria to learn to swim and the benefits a new facility will provide to our local economy.”
In 2016 Advocates for Alexandria Aquatics signed a formal partnership agreement with the city to help coordinate the public-private efforts to improve Alexandria's aquatics facilities. A specific area of focus is the design and construction of a new pool at Chinquapin. With the City Council set to approve the FY 2018 budget in early May, AAA wants the 50meter pool fully funded so construction can begin in 2018.
"This survey demonstrates that Alexandria strongly supports our local leaders committing to the construction of a new pool at Chinquapin,” said Carolyn Griglione, a member of the AAA board of directors. "I know there are many competing priorities in the upcoming budget but a new pool at Chinquapin is an investment in a healthy and safe future. Approximately 7,500 children in Alexandria do not know how to swim, and we need to ensure that our community affords everyone an opportunity to learn a skill that can save their life.”
The study was sponsored by Advocates for Alexandria Aquatics and conducted by Hudson Pacific. The results are based on a survey of 300 adults who indicated they reside within the city limits of the City of Alexandria. Surveys were conducted in English between March 22 and 24, 2017 and averaged 7 minutes in length.
Fieldwork was conducted via telephone by Survey Sampling, Inc. using a random-digit dial sampling methodology. The survey was designed to be representative of the City of Alexandria adult population by gender, age, education and race. The targets were based on 2015 population estimates from the United States Census Bureau.