Fellow dog owners and their dogs visiting Trout Lake Park will be experiencing a significant reduction in the off-leash environment when the park master plan reaches completion.
As it stands at Trout Lake Park, dogs are allowed to roam off-leash on over 29 thousand square meters of space. The city is proposing a reduction of designated off-leash area to six thousand square meters.
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The new plan would disallow dogs from entering the north beach of the park. The trade-off is a fenced off area on the northwest side of the lake.
Image: City of Vancouver
Currently, there is a Facebook group called Dog Lovers of Trout Lake, dedicated to protesting the significant changes surrounding the redesign of the off-leash site.
It was brought to the city’s attention that some visitors have concerns on the lack of defined boundaries between the dog off-leash area and the rest of the park. This is mainly due to some park users getting uncomfortable with potential dog interactions and concerns about water quality impacts.
The objective of the planning process is to ensure the park continues to be a vibrant and well-loved community gathering space for years to come.
– City of Vancouver
According to the City of Vancouver, 72 percent of respondents thought it was better to delineate the extents of the dog off-leash area with a combination of vegetation buffers, attractive fencing and signage.
Image: City of Vancouver
Dog lovers at the future off-leash area could be faced with overcrowding, stricter park rules for dogs, and more supervision from facilities officers.
In 2009, the Trout Lake community reinvigorates itself by replacing the Trout Lake Rink and by 2012 the new LEED gold-rated community centre had succeeded its former self.
Image: Fast + Epp
Both architecturally, and socially sound projects are part of the master plan to improve John Hendry Park. The master plan is a long term investment for the city and the Parks Board to collaborate over the next 10 to 15 years.
Cute dogs in a park via shutterstock