Lifeguards are transitioning into the new Children’s Pool Lifeguard Tower in La Jolla that has been nearly nine years in the making.
Planning on the new Children’s Pool tower, one of three built in La Jolla over the past decade which cost $3.1 million to construct, goes back to at least 2007.
The project has been plagued with problems and delays since the get-go. La Jolla community planners early on questioned the size and scale of the old tower, built in the 1960s. That tower was condemned by the health department before razed in fall 2013.
Lifeguards have operated out of a pod-like temporary station atop scaffolding next door to the new tower structure under construction ever since.
San Diego Lifeguard Marine Safety Capt. James Gartland described the new tower as a “huge improvement,” over its predecessor. He noted it’s designed to accommodate summer peak-season staffing.
“This building now has men’s and women’s locker rooms, an area for lifeguards to prepare food and a first aid room for patient care,” Gartland said noting the new building’s observation tower “has a higher vantage point and an increase in degrees of view.”
With the new building, Gartland said lifeguards now “have the ability to observe the water from other areas in the tower while doing other work functions. The more lifeguard eyes on the water (and the people in it) the better.”
The new lifeguard tower is a state-of-the-art emergency response facility that fits all of the needs of the Lifeguard Division including having individual, public restrooms and being ADA-compliant.
Construction began in early 2013 for the new Children’s Pool tower, which has been occupied as of June 27, Gartland said. He added, “The project went through three seal moratoriums,” including an unexpected delay when “seagulls were found nesting on the job site, preventing work resuming until the young seagulls developed their wings and flew away from the construction area.”
As a secure public safety facility, Gartland noted areas of the new tower are limited to authorized personnel only. There are restrooms and viewing areas specifically designed for public access.
The main observation tower is usually off limits to the public, as are locker rooms where lifeguards keep their equipment and personal belongings. Many areas in the tower can be visited by the public with a lifeguard present.
Gartland said an official dedication/ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new tower has yet to be set.
Of the three lifeguard towers built in La Jolla recently, including the smaller Cove tower and the larger (and first completed) tower at La Jolla Shores, Gartland said, “All of these towers have had their unique challenges and qualities. These are all ‘working buildings,’ all very unique in their requirements. These projects are very technical and require oversight and adjustment as they get built.”
Noting Children’s Pool tower “had the advantage of being the third one built,” Gartland said “adjustments and lessons learned on the other towers were applied and planned for on this tower. This is a tower that the community can enjoy that also gives the lifeguards the ability to provide a high level of safety to a rugged area of the coast.”
Concerning the disposition of the existing temporary lifeguard pod on scaffolding, Gartland said, “The removal timeframe will be determined by the lifeguards and environmental constraints. The scaffolding is located beneath the temporary lifeguard tower that supports it, and will be removed when the temporary lifeguard tower is removed. “All temporary construction fencing except for around the temporary lifeguard trailer has been removed. The remaining temporary fencing will be removed when the temporary lifeguard trailer is removed,” he added.