Pet owners barking at city over lack of dog runs
Close-to-home spots hard to find in city that's becoming increasingly dense
More dog owners across Vancouver are speaking up about the lack of off-leash spaces for their pups in the city, after a Mount Pleasant school field was recently fenced off to keep canines out.
Last week, dog owners said they were upset that the Vancouver school district closed Sir Charles Tupper Secondary's north field to the public. The district blamed it on “extensive damage due to dogs digging holes.”
Among those unhappy about the city's disproportionate number of dedicated outdoor spaces for dogs is Holly Atkins.
“I've had enough,” said the 36-year-old, who typically takes her one-year-old beagle mix, Murphy, outside twice a day for exercise and socialization. “There's not a single fenced dog area in all of Kitsilano, Point Grey, Jericho, Kerrisdale and Dunbar-southlands.”
Atkins' comments come as bylaw officers ramp up their warm-weather enforcement of various bylaws. On Wednesday evening, Atkins watched one such bylaw officer prepare tickets for owners who had let their dogs run free at Point Grey Park. She called it the final straw.
The resident took to social media Wednesday night, issuing a public call for other Vancouver dog owners to bolster lobbying Vancouver's park board for new off-leash areas. By Thursday morning, more than two dozen locals joined her grassroots initiative, Kitsilano Offleash Advocacy.
“We are happy to crowdfund or donate the money ourselves needed for fencing, but we need the park board to provide us with designated space in a local park,” said Atkins.
Fines for having an off-leash dog range from $250 to $10,000.
On Thursday, a parks board spokesperson told Postmedia it “welcomes support from the public to help in our mission to provide, preserve, and advocate for parks and recreation” including “additional funding towards improved dog off-leash facilities in Vancouver, provided it aligns with ... our people, parks and dogs strategy.”
The strategy's stated aim included providing off-leash areas within a 15-minute walk of most residents. Currently, only 39 off-leash dog areas exist in all of Vancouver. Only a few are gated.
So, for the 36 per cent to 39 per cent of Vancouver households who own at least one dog, according to municipal figures, finding a place close to home to let their dogs run freely is proving challenging.
“It takes me up to an hour to get to the off-leash area nearest my home. It's three kilometres away at Hadden Park,” Atkins said Thursday. “I don't have a car, so I often pay to Uber my puppy and I home after because Murphy is too tired to walk back.”
Atkins is not the only Vancouver dog owner who is frustrated by a lack of off-leash spaces in their neighbourhood.
Sherryl Yeager, who lives on the city's east side, close to Lord Nelson Elementary School, shares the sentiment. The 58-year-old used to let her dog, Giro, off-leash to run on an unsanctioned field at the elementary school after 5 p.m. Close to a year ago, the school board closed off access.
“I get it if the school district wants to keep dogs out, but surely there's a better way to do that than keeping everyone else out, too,” Yeager told Postmedia Thursday. “In a city where we are increasing densification with yards becoming smaller and smaller, kids can't even play outside school after class anymore.”
The field's closure is one of several that have occurred at local schools in the past several years by the Vancouver school district, which owns 110 properties.
School board spokesperson Jiana Chow said the district decided to limit public access to them due to damage caused by dogs digging holes, as well as excessive dog waste.
“We allow the public to use these areas, but when they are not being respected, we close off the area,” Chow said Thursday.
“We welcome you to use school fields that remain open, but please keep your dogs on leash, pick up after them and prevent them from digging holes,” Chow said. “The holes become a tripping hazard and a liability issue for the district.”
Including Sir Charles Tupper, fields have been closed at Templeton and Lord Byng secondary schools. At elementary schools, Tennyson and Bayview's fields are in the process of being fenced off from the public.
In 2017, a park board report found the most underserved areas in the city for off-leash dog parks were Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant, Downtown, the West End, Grandview-woodland and Fairview.
Last year, the city announced plans to build two new dog offleash areas, at Heather Park in the South Cambie neighbourhood and Granville Park in Fairview. It's also planning to expand an off-leash area downtown at Emery Barnes Park. Construction has not begun on the projects.
Resident Paul Depedrina, who lives near the closed field at Sir Charles Tupper, suggests Vancouver's park board raise its annual cost of dog licensing to fund new off-leash areas.
“The problem is only going to get worse with densification,” he said.
“Vancouver's population is increasing, but amenities such as off-leash spaces for dogs haven't.”