Proposed dog park sites not fetching to residents
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on April 6, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
Will city dog owners get new places for their four-legged pals to do some off-leash ruff-housing?
The Civic Works Standing Policy Committee of city council this afternoon will be getting an update about the second phase of public engagement on the subject from Parks and Cemeteries general manager Blair Richter.
The committee consists of chair Belinda Crowson, vice-chair and Deputy Mayor John Middleton-Hope, Acting Mayor Ryan Parker and councillor Nick Paladino. It will meet at 1:30 p.m.
That update suggests the public largely is not favourable to new off-leash parks in the majority of six new potential locations identified by the city.
Council directed administration to explore the creation of new off-leash parks and last March Parks and Cemeteries presented a plan to the SPC.
The community was engaged on the matter with a survey that ran from May 30 until June 27 last year. Last October administration recommended that six locations be further explored for their potential suitability. Those locations were Nicholas Sheran Park, Coalbanks Park, Henderson Park, the 20th Ave.S. greenstrip, Kodiak Park and 28 St. 7 Ave.-9 Ave. North.
The intent of the second phase of engagement was to hear from residents living near those six locations as well as well as other residents. Letters were sent out to residents living within 100 metres of each location to request their feedback and notify them of the proposals. A Phase 2 survey ran from Jan. 12-30 of this year. And residents were encouraged to provide their feedback at the Jan. 18 Community Conversation event.
The results show substantial negative feelings about dog parks in several of the proposed locations.
Coalbanks Park on the westside, where four concepts were proposed, had the highest overall negative reaction with 74 per cent not favouring the location.
Kodiak Park on the northside, with three proposed concepts, had an overall negative sentiment of 69 per cent with only six per cent of residents having a positive opinion.
The 20 Ave. S. location, with four proposed concepts, had a 65 per cent negative reaction. Henderson Lake – with three concepts – had a 57 per cent negative response. Nicholas Sheran had a 48 per cent negative reaction about the six different design concepts in two corners of the park and 28 St. N. – with three proposed locations – had a 28 per cent negative response. This park is the only one where positive reaction – at 35 per cent – was higher than negative.
The recommended option being put forward today by administration calls for exploring opportunities for new off-leash parks in developing areas of Lethbridge. A second option suggests considering options to improve existing off-leash parks while a third calls for exploring the top two rated parks from the six proposed locations, those being the northwest quadrant of Nicholas Sheran Park and 28 St. 7 Ave. N.
Richter’s report says the current operating budget doesn’t have sufficient funding for new parks and would require use of the Urban Parks Reserve to fund them. It also points out turf in these parks requires extra maintenance to repair and time for it to regenerate which increases the level of service at the proposed locations.
Construction costs could range between $38,000 to $130,000 for a single off-leash park with maintenance costs at locations ranging between $1,700 and $7,000 a year.
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17-16
Put one in the City Manager’s yard, the Mayor’s, Councilor’s and whoever in City Hall is trying to push it on these parks that were designed for use and future use for people, not animals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m sick and tired of this city’s crazy ideas, pretending to listen to the people, and doing what they want, even if it’s not what the people want. In any case, on the off chance that we say no, they figure out how to do it anyway.
People are not aware until the project is being built. Then we pay!