Unless, of course, you're a North Raleigh swimmer.

The plight of city swimmers, particularly those in the northeast and northwest parts of the city, is something that officials have historically paid little attention to.

But the issue has temporarily floated to the surface this summer, as the city is the midst of an exhaustive aquatics study. The purpose of the study is to come up with a plan for how to meet Raleigh's swimming needs for the next 25 years.

Such a review is long overdue. It's been more than 20 years since the city made any significant expansions to its stable of public pools, and that lack of action has been felt most in the fastest growing areas of the city.

The city's eight pools average more than 300,000 visitors a year, and those users range in age from toddlers to senior citizens. Meeting their various needs will not be easy, nor will it be cheap.

Many in Raleigh's swimming community are skeptical about whether officials are truly committed to spending the money necessary to create a network of facilities that covers the entire city. Their skepticism is warranted.

This fall's parks and recreation bond referendum includes just $8 million for pools, a drop in the bucket when you consider what needs to be done.

There's no point in going ahead with a costly and time-consuming aquatics study if the political will does not exist to follow through on its recommendations. If you're going to commit to offering public swimming, dive in head first.