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Park board plan dedicated to four-legged park users

People, Parks and Dogs strategy approved
dogs
Vancouver Park Board this week adopted the People, Parks and Dogs plan, an over-arching strategy looking at off-leash dog areas in the city’s parks. Photo Dan Toulgoet

It’s been 20 years since Vancouver Park Board created its first off-leash dog areas, and it now has a plan for the future of park space dedicated to the city’s legion of canine companions.

Board commissioners Monday night approved the People, Parks and Dogs plan. It's an over-arching strategy aimed at improving existing off-leash areas, creating new ones and promoting a more positive experience for all park users by clarifying rules, boundaries and etiquette in leash-free areas, over the next 10 years and into the future.

“Additionally, the strategy seeks to integrate a variety of appealing and dog-safe off-leash spaces in our parks that are easily accessed by local residents who directly support their success,” board staff said in the report to commissioners.

In 1997, the first off-leash areas were created in four parks — Balaclava, Hillcrest (Queen Elizabeth), Nelson and Killarney — as a pilot project. Since then, another 32 off-leash areas were added. Six of the 36 off-leash areas are fenced, while the remaining 30 are unfenced and the park space is shared by a variety of other user. There is also a leash-free area in Pacific Spirit Park but that is outside the park board’s jurisdiction.

“This is a very important step… for as long as I’ve been a commissioner, this is my second discontiguous term, dogs have been the number one issue that we’ve dealt with,” said commissioner Stuart Mckinnon. “And we’ve been through many difference processes on what to do with the interaction between people and dogs in our parks.”

Mackinnon added that the plan addresses many of the common issues that come up around dogs in parks.

“We can live in an urban area, we can have dogs as our companions and we can occupy public spaces with them and without them.”

The plan is the result of an 18-month-long consultation process that included a phone survey of 400 Vancouver residents, eight in-person events and two online surveys. There were a combined 6,400 responses, with roughly half coming from dog owners. Staff also worked with a 22-member advisory committee.

The plan covers everything from creating new off-leash areas in regions of the city that are considered underserved and strategies for increasing the number of licensed dogs, to the types of surfaces that could be used and increasing signage and education related of dog activity in parks.

Staff also identified a number of “quick starts” — initiatives that could be under taken in the next 12 to 18 months, including: developing a new off-leash area at Renfrew Park and testing new surfacing materials, expanding the city’s “red bin” program for dog waste, installing new signage at existing off-leash areas and removing time restrictions at New Brighton Park’s off-leash enclosure.

There were 21,332 licensed dogs in the city in 2016. However, the park board staff report says the estimated population is actually between 32,390 and 55,947, based on results from the phone survey.

As part of the planning process, staff analyzed dog-related calls to the city’s 311 line between January 2010 and 2015. There are more than 30,000 calls about dogs annually. The calls included complaints, concerns and general inquiries. Staff estimates each call costs approximately $6.

Several residents signed up to speak to the board before commissioners considered approval of the plan. Erin Filtness, who spoke on behalf of Dog Lovers of Trout Lake, said the plan was a good move and stressed that proper signage at existing parks is the most urgent need and that fencing should only be used as a last resort.

Michael Seear said he is concerned about interactions between dogs and wildlife in parks and listed a number of areas in the city that are home to eagles, herons, a beaver and some otters.

“These animals… greatly improve our lives and they deserve our protection,” Seear said. “You don’t need to shout about rights of animals. I think that’s at the fanatical end of the spectrum; you just need common sense. We should look after them…

“When you are designing an off-leash park area, you should include the wildlife that may conceivably be affected by an off-leash dog,” he said.

All commissioners voiced their support for the strategy before approving the plan unanimously.