Woman loses court battle over dog park
Visually impaired resident argues Greenwood Dog Park is inaccessible after bylaw ticket
Melanie Lepp recently walked into a Toronto courtroom to defend her decision to violate the city’s off-leash bylaw. Although unsuccessful, the visually impaired Leslieville woman’s battle for a safe and accessible place to freely run her dog is just getting started.
This month, Ontario justice of the peace Mark Conacher found Lepp, who is legally blind in one eye and totally blind in the other, guilty of running her German shephard, Semper, off-leash at Greenwood Park, but imposed a fine of $0.
On Dec. 1, 2017, a bylaw officer gave Lepp a $261 ticket for what she calls an “act of civil disobedience.”
“I wanted my day in court. If I let this drop, it wouldn’t become an issue the city has to deal with,” said Lepp, who about three years ago stopped using the local green space’s dog park because her energetic dog cut his paws on the pea gravel surface. Around that time, she also lost her footing on the uneven ground and fell, breaking her white cane in half.
“I didn’t want to step away. I want (Greenwood Dog Park) fixed,” said Lepp, adding she knows she shouldn’t be breaking the law, but felt it was more important to draw attention to the fact the local off-leash area is “not feasible.”
“I don’t think dogs should be running off-leash (in public places). I just want the park to be safe,” said Lepp, who was greeted by dog park advocate Eric Code and a handful of dog owners before her April 9 hearing.
Code said they came out to support Lepp because he and others feel it’s essential the “right balance” be found for all park users. He also said the time is now to review Toronto’s People, Dogs and Parks Off-leash policy, which was approved in January 2010.
“The answer is to replace our outdated policy with a more comprehensive strategy,” Code said. “It makes no sense to make dog parks people won’t use.”
Criminal defence lawyer Ari Goldkind contacted Metroland Media Toronto in early 2018 after reading an article about Lepp’s situation and offered pro bono legal services.
Goldkind, a fellow dog owner/ lover with a special interest in defending the rights of blind people, expected an uphill battle in defending Lepp’s actions, but said she made “an absolutely principled” decision to fight her ticket.
He said given the nature of the violation, he had great respect for Conacher’s “wise decision and thought process,” and that the justice of the peace’s “hands were essentially tied.” Further, Goldkind said he appreciated Conacher taking into consideration the “important principles about how the city and/or the province treats differently abled people” as well as Lepp’s “great dignity” and the “honest and compelling manner” in which she delivered her evidence.
“Perhaps Ms. Lepp’s predicament will spur a slow-moving city into taking faster action so that all dog lovers, whether visually impaired or not visually impaired, will be able to use these crucial and vital spaces in the city for our beloved best four-legged friends,” Goldkind, who previously ran for Toronto mayor, told the Beach-East York Neighbourhood Voice.
Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher also attended court on April 9, testifying that the pea gravel surface at Greenwood Dog Park is not desirable as it poses difficulties for people with mobility issues and for dogs’ paws.
“Everyone should have access to Toronto’s parks and that includes dog off-leash areas. The use of pea gravel makes these areas a no-go zone for many people with mobility issues,” the Ward 14 representative said in an April 8 release.
“Many residents also complain pea gravel hurts dogs’ paws. There are better options and we need to start using them to make our parks more inclusive.”
Fletcher has since put forward a motion to city council calling for an amendment to the 2019 Parks, Forestry and Recreation capital budget for the installation of accessible artificial turf at the Greenwood Park Dog offleash area. Her motion also calls on the parks department to take a closer look at several dog parks in other cities to see if options for “innovation and design” can be incorporated in Toronto’s off-leash areas.
Leppsaid she’s prepared to file a human rights complaint against the city if Toronto’s public dog parks continue to remain inaccessible.