Drivers should avoid Park Avenue between Forest Parkway and Georgia Avenue in Forest Park on weekdays starting Monday, April 17 through Friday, July 28, 2023.
The city says it will shut down the road from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting, Mondays through Fridays for repairs at the Forest Park Recreation Center.
“During this time, officials will be conducting work inside the Forest Park Recreation Center and moving heavy equipment near the east side of the building where Forest Parkway and Park Avenue intersect,” the city said in a press release. “Detour signs will be installed around the immediate area prior to the duration of the roadway closure to assist with traffic flow.”
The indoor pool has been closed for renovations. However, the outdoor pool will be open for residents Memorial Day Weekend, according to Recreation and Leisure’s website. We’ve asked for more information about whether the closures would impact the outdoor pool this summer and will update with any response.
The indoor pool, which is named for Olympic breaststroke and individual medley gold medalist Steve Lundquist, a Clayton County resident, has been long overdue for updates since it was built 60 years ago.
In January 2022, we reported that the pool had been leaking for years. In 2015, according to a note to councilmembers from City Manager Marc-Antonie Cooper, “a full evaluation was completed on The Steve Lundquist indoor pool. It was recommended that the existing pool structure needed to be replaced with a brand-new shell however based on the 4 options provided, minimal renovations were completed. Presently, the renovated pool shell is losing on average 30,000 gallons of water, weekly, through the return inlet valve, which is a metal pipe from the original pool structure from 1963. In 2021, the indoor pool was reassessed by a professional engineering firm and provided new options for a stronger pool structure that would be covered under a one-year warranty.”
In April 2021, the city took bids to install a dehumidification system for the indoor pool.