Toronto’s off-leash park planning a dog’s breakfast, councillors endorse changes
September 23, 2023 – CBC News
Excerpt: “Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie, who chairs the city’s Infrastructure Committee, endorsed the request for a dog park master plan this week. The current process to get a dog park built in a neighbourhood is labour intensive for residents and often ends in frustration, she said.”
Toronto councillor proposes ‘master plan’ for off-leash dog parks
September 20, 2023 – City News
Excerpt: “He thinks the city needs a master plan for off-leash dog parks, overseen by city staff. The goal is to not only take a holistic look at the feasibility of including off-leash areas in current parks, but also include them in future ones.”
Toronto councillor wants city to build more off-leash dog parks
September 14, 2023 – CTV News
Excerpt: “Developing an evidence-based, best practice approach to Off-Leash Areas and integrating this approach within the Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan is the only way to address all ongoing issues once and for all.”
Tension around off-leash dogs in Toronto is rising. A plan to solve it is headed to city hall
September 14, 2023 – Toronto Star
Excerpt: “The issue we have around dogs in urban centres isn’t going to go away,” said Moise, who is working in collaboration with the grassroots Toronto Dog Park Community organization. “If we don’t manage it properly, people will take their dogs out anyway, and they will do things that may not be lawful.”
No barking in a dog park? Toronto has long tried to bring to heel bitter fights over off-leash areas
March 8, 2023 – Toronto Star
Excerpt: “…at a fenced-in off-leash area for dogs at a park downtown, the city had posted a sign requesting people “do not allow your dogs to bark and disturb the neighbourhood” and advising that “excessive barking will not be tolerated.” People saw the sign and were, like, “What the heck? No barking in a dog park? Who thought that was a good idea?”
Many Toronto off-leash parks are overpacked with doggos: Is there a fix?
April 28, 2022 – CBC News
Many Toronto off-leash parks are overpacked with doggos: Is there a fix?
New off-leash design will go to the dogs if Toronto doesn’t change ‘dangerous surface,’ residents say
July 10, 2021 – CBC News
Excerpt: The highly anticipated redesign of an off-leash dog park in downtown Toronto will will not only injure pooches’ paws, but also make the much-needed space inaccessible for owners with disabilities, say some residents who live nearby.
The culprit is pea gravel — small, smooth stones the city plans to lay about a foot deep across about half of the fenced-in area at St. Andrew’s Playground, which is located at Adelaide Street West and Brant Street.
2020 – The Canadian City Parks Report by ParkPeople.ca
Excerpt: If you want to see a park staffer cringe, just mention dog parks. There’s hardly a park amenity more controversial than setting aside space for dogs to run off-leash in green space.
But off-leash dog areas are also increasingly in demand, as 85% of cities noted in our survey, and they can provide important social benefits. However, cities are challenged to find suitable land and deal with community concerns.
City dog park review a good start but not enough, owners say
March 30, 2020 – CBC News
Excerpt:
Some dog owners say the city is barking up the wrong tree with its review of conditions at off-leash areas.
That review has been ongoing since last year. Several public consultation sessions have been held and a final report is due by the end of the year.
But Eric Code, founder of the group Toronto Dog Park Community, says that while his members appreciate what the city is doing, it is missing out on the most pressing issue facing dog owners: the need for more, not just better, off-leash areas.
“There are entire wards that don’t have dog parks at this time,” Code told CBC Toronto.
“And also with all the new high- density communities that are being built, of course there’s a really big need for more.”
Letter from Toronto Dog Park Community to Toronto City Council
October 23, 2019 – Toronto.ca files
Excerpt:
The Facilities Master Plan, Implementation Strategy and 2010 People, Dogs and Parks Policy are insufficient to the point of negligence when compared to the strategies and master plans for off-leash areas developed by municipalities such as Vancouver. If this is left unchanged, significant ongoing problems will continue, affecting all residents of Toronto, including school children and people without dogs.
We urge the Executive Committee and Toronto City Council to direct Parks, Forestry and Recreation to conduct a formal international review of municipal off-leash area policies, practices and plans, report back, and initiate the creation of a new, separate master plan or strategy for off-leash areas that is on par with international best practices. Since the Facilities Master Plan is a living document and Toronto’s residents deserve an off-leash strategy that reflects best practices, we feel that this request is reasonable.
Gone to the dogs: Turf war on CityPlace sports field over lack of off-leash space
April 3, 2019 – CBC News
Excerpt:
Some downtown Toronto residents are growing frustrated with dog owners letting their canines run off-leash on a section of artificial turf designated as a sports field.
“They’re defecating on the field. I just want to enjoy the neighbourhood,” said Arthur Melon.
The CityPlace resident tried to film a group of dog owners on Tuesday morning breaking a Toronto bylaw that stipulates pooches must remain leashed at all times outside authorized locations.
In Toronto, depressing dog parks are a matter of policy
Dec 30, 2018 – Toronto.com
Excerpt:
Toronto is failing park users, and they are doing it by design. That’s because today’s dog parks are not designed for people. They aren’t even designed for dogs. They are designed for an outdated policy that’s doing more harm than good.
New citywide standards have made matters worse. Painful, even.
10 things dog owners should know about coyotes, canines and coexistence
Dec. 12, 2018 – Toronto.com
Excerpt:
Last week, area residents gathered at Mimico Centennial Library for a coyote information session hosted by the Lakeshore Dog Park Community.
Speakers included Sara Bowman of the Toronto Wildlife Centre and Ann Brokelman of Coyote Watch Canada. The aim was to empower residents with practical information they could use to help the community, themselves, their pets and wildlife.
