3 new dog beaches to open in 2 weeks
Dogs to be able to frolic off leash on beaches at Lake Avenue, Poplar Point, Bernard Avenue
Three new dog beaches along Kelowna’s shore should open by the May long weekend.
City staff hope to have signage for the dog beaches up at Lake Avenue, Poplar Point and the end of Bernard Avenue within two weeks.
“It’ll be great to have a place for Coco to cool off,” Marla O’Brien, a Kelowna resident, said Thursday as she and husband Andrew walked their small dog near the Lake Avenue beach access point.
Although signage indicating dogs can go into the water at Lake Avenue will soon go up, fencing to clearly mark the area may not be erected until after the May long weekend, said city spokesman Tom Wilson.
Last Monday, city council will make the necessary changes to municipal bylaws to formally designate the three beachfront areas as being open to off-leash dogs.
Fourteen other city parks and natural areas are also being opened to on-leash dogs. The areas, which total 100 hectares, include Boyce-Gyro Park, Avonlea Park, Watt Park, Tower Ranch Mountain Park, University South Park and McKinley Mountain Park.
An existing dog park off Enterprise Way will be reduced in size to try to ensure better protection of a wetland.
The changes were approved by council last year after an extensive public consultation process including a city-wide survey, said to be statistically accurate, that favoured the creation of more dog-friendly public spaces. One key finding was that 55 per cent of residents favoured more dog beaches to go with the one that already exists at Cedar Creek Park. The most contentious dog beach proposal was the one near Lake Avenue. Some nearby residents worry about traffic, noise, lowered property values and potential conflicts.
But city officials say having more people drawn to the area will help curb undesirable behaviours, such as nudity, drug use and public drinking, long associated with the Lake Avenue beach access.