Lee Valley Velodrome - Is it fulfilling its legacy promises?

I've heard people talk about how much they like being able to swim in the aquatic centre. Is it affordable as a public pool? Or only for middle class occasional family days out. An awful lot more expensive to run and maintain than a velodrome... Would be interesting to compare perhaps.

Bear:

The Aquatic Centre is reasonable compared to other swimming pools but the few times I've been, largely empty.

I don't do track but I do swim in the Olympic pool on and off. It's great. It costs £5.20 peak and £4.95 off peak which compares well with other facilities, especially as the locker gives you your coin back and the hairdryers don't charge (normally 20p a pop).

So yes it's totally affordable and London finally has a high quality, large public pool similar to the ones places like Berlin have had for years.

The competition (50m) pool is big so people tend to spread out, plus there are three pools in total on site, so it feels less busy than a facility with just one 30m or shorter pool. And if you go about 6pm on a weekday I definitely wouldn't call it quiet.

That said, swimming participation in Britain is declining:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38128659

So perhaps the cost of the velodrome is essentially demand responsive pricing?

Either way it seems swimmers are getting a much better deal from the Olympic legacy than trackies.