Down The Drain: Single-Sex Swimming And Other Proposed Parks Bureau Cuts

A 16-month experiment with single-sex swim sessions at Buckman Pool appears to be coming to an end.

This month, as City of Portland bureaus head into their next round of budget cuts, Portland Parks & Recreation has prepared its proposal for eliminating 4 percent of costs from its 2010-2011 budget.

On the chopping block? A women-only swim time that was created to accommodate the customs of female Muslims in Portland -- after much legal wrangling.

The cut is part of a package of reductions that will save the city an estimated $24,000 next year. That cut package also would close outdoor pools earlier on cool weather days, closes Montavilla Pool on Sundays, closes Wilson Pool 30 minutes earlier on weeknights, and reduces teen swim nights at Grant and Sellwood Pools to two nights per week, according to the parks bureau.

In order to allow swim times for women and girls only at Buckman, the city had had to implement a comparable session for men and boys. Neither was well attended.

More information on the city's budget process is available online.