ROLLING OUT THE WELCOME MAT TO CANINES
Kudos to developers for making dog parks part of the package, writes Richard White.
For a long time now, I have been telling developers ( both urban and suburban) they should create more amenities for dog owners. Finally, it looks like they are listening! In fact, it might be said Calgary is “going to the dogs,” but in a good way. It seems everywhere I go and everybody I talk to these days is telling me about how developers are adding dog-friendly elements to their communities.
Recently, University District opened its North Park, which features a small, fenced-off dog park area. What I love most about this is that the dog park has been completed before anyone even moves into University District. And it is proving to be popular with those living in nearby Montgomery, Varsity and University Heights. Hmmm…is this a clever sales strategy?
And Bruce McKenzie, vicepresident of business development at NORR Architects Engineers Planners, tells me they have designed for a developer a large luxury condo project in Mission that will include its own dog park. And the multi-use rooftop at Minto Communities’ Annex project in Kensington, designed by Nyhoff Architecture will include dog run. How cool is that?
East Village has embraced dogs also, opening up a temporary fenced-in dog park on a little triangular piece of land across from Ron Moppett’s mural made up of 950,000 colourful tiles. I am thinking they need to find a site for a permanent dog park given the Village will eventually be home to more than 10,000 people. With Calgary currently having about one dog for every 10 people, that could be a lot of dogs living in East Village when fully built out.
The Beltline learned about the importance of dog parks a few years ago so Connaught Park was renovated in 2015 to include a fenced-off dog park. It has since become one of the community’s most popular hangouts. Too bad they didn’t make the new East Victoria Park a dog park — I rarely see anyone in the park along Macleod Trail. I bet if they converted it to a dog park, it would have people (and dogs) there all the time.
WHY DO I LOVE DOG PARKS?
Full disclosure — I don’t own a dog and never have in my adult life. But I dog-sit regularly for friends in Altadore. That means trips to River Park twice, sometimes three times a day. What impresses me most about River Park is how devoted many dog owners are to walking their dog and how social the experience is for both the owners and the dogs. I have seen dozens of people walking their dogs in blizzard conditions. One night at -30 C, there was a dog walking group out walking. That’s dedication!
What I love about dog parks is that they are used seven days a week, morning, noon and night, 12 months of the year. I am not sure any of Calgary’s other 5,200 parks can claim that — most only get used seasonally.
I also enjoy the fact that not only do the dogs come in all shapes and sizes but dog parks are full of people from all walks of life. I often see young families and small groups of retirees out walking their dogs and chatting with each other, as well as individuals. Almost always they will smile and say hi, and in some cases we strike up a conversation. When urbanists talk about creating inclusive gathering places, nothing beats a dog park.
WHAT?
While writing this piece, I was shocked by a Twitter post by Josh White, general manager of development at Dream Unlimited (a real estate developer) noting Calgary Parks objected to the inclusion of a one-acre offleash dog park as part of a 14-acre community park in their new southwest community of Providence. Why? Because it “caters to one user instead of a variety of users.” What? The dog park will cater to people of all ages and backgrounds and it will be used year-round. It will be the most important community-building amenity in the new community.
I hope Parks will get its head out of the sand and let White build his dog park.
In my opinion, we should be insisting all new communities and major condos include a dog park or dog run.
LAST WORD
I make a point of researching and visiting dog parks when I am visiting others cities. I have seen some amazing ones in Las Vegas, Palm Springs and some pretty ugly ones in places like Berlin. But I have never seen anything to match Calgary’s River Park or upper Edworthy Park for their size, varied terrain and spectacular views. I am thinking Calgary has the potential to become the “dog park capital of the world.”