Mom Shy Pattie uses the wading pool at Vimy Ridge Memorial Park as a way to convince her children to get outdoors during the recent heatwave.
"My kids get a little lethargic and want to only watch TV,” said Pattie.
Moments after 19-month-old Kyzer got out of the wading pool at Vimy Ridge, his mom Stephanie Strugar says it's a good way for him to cool down in the extreme heat.
"They have a short summer, the longer they're out and safely in water, the better for them," said Strugar.
Most of Winnipeg's 80 wading pools are drained between 5 and 6 p.m. on weekdays, and some are closed on the weekends. Parents have taken to social media to call on the city to extend hours into the evening. Some say they were shocked to learn of the hours, others say it’s tough to take their kids to a wading pool because of their nine to five work lives.
Stephanie Strugar agrees.
"Oh 100 per cent, 100 per cent, we're here all the time, parents have different working schedules,” she said.
But it's not as easy as it sounds. Staff would have to be extended too, costing taxpayers money.
"You know blanket spending for all 80 wading pools, I don't know if that's feasible, certainly I don't think we have that in our operating budget to accomplish," said community service committee chair, Coun. Mike Pagtakhan
The city says that's why splash pads are open until 9 p.m. and free unheated outdoor pools until 7 p.m.
Still, Shy Pattie says it would be worth stretching wading pool hours and even the season if necessary.
“If we ended up with a heatwave in September, if they extended it past the first weekend in September," said Pattie.
