Council to debate new dog park at Malden Park
A $75,000 dog park could be built by May or June at Malden Park. The west-end Broadway Park dog park has temporarily been reopened after Broadway Park and the Black Oak Heritage Park were closed for two years because of bridge-related construction. Once the larger dog park at Malden Park is complete, the Broadway Park one will be closed and removed. The proposed dog park off Malden Road will have separate fenced areas for small dogs and large dogs. “They have been waiting for it,” parks development manager Mike Clement said Friday of west-end dog owners.
On Wednesday, the environment, transportation and public safety standing committee of council will get Clement’s report on the potential new dog park. Clement said Malden Park has better services for dog owners including parking and washrooms. The fenced dog areas will be built just inside the Malden Road entrance gate which will make the dog areas visible in and outside the park.
A previous location closer to Matchette Road was rejected because it was low-lying, not visible from the road and would have been close to a number of sporting events held nearby. Most of the estimated $75,000 cost will be used for fencing, Clement said. The dog parks will have gravel paths, seating for dog owners and double-gated entries. Coun. John Elliott pitched the idea of another west-end dog park to replace the Broadway Park one more than a year ago. The other city dog parks are at the Ford Test Track, Optimist Memorial Park on Ypres Boulevard and Remington Booster Park off Edinborough Street.
In January when $10 million was set aside for capital budget works, one of the city projects waiting for a report was the $75,000 dog park. If approved by council, Clement’s report said construction would begin as soon as weather permits and the dog parks could be open by May or June.