Concerns over west-end off-leash dog site aired to city councillor’s staff

Callingwood residents have raised a series of complaints about their local dog park, including dead trees, poorly maintained paths, and trash.

A member of a west-end city councillor’s office says he will work to escalate concerns over conditions at a neighbourhood dog park to administration.

Graham Leggett, a communications and policy advisor for Ward sipiwiyiniwak Coun. Thu Parmar, said he plans to bring the concerns of residents who regularly use the Callingwood Park off-leash site to administration so staff “knows what people are seeing, their concerns.”

Leggett and other members of Parmar’s staff met with the group on Tuesday at the park.

The residents’ grievances include a parking lot they say is too small to meet demand, fallen trees near pathways that pose a hazard to path users, garbage cans that are often full, long grass and foliage that encroaches on pathways.

The off-leash site is located in a heavily treed part of the greater Callingwood Park that’s positioned at the centre of the west-end neighbourhood south of Whitemud Drive between 170 and 178 streets. It also includes the grounds of St. Oscar Romero Catholic High School, Callingwood Elementary School, the Jamie Platz YMCA, a public library branch, a twin-arena complex, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, a spray park and walking paths.

“One of the things we’re seeing is that the park isn’t being as upkept as it could be,” resident Ryan Bonnell told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday.

“The paths are a little bit left to their own devices, and I think because of the number of people who are coming here for walking and going in through the paths, I think having that maintained ... everyone would feel better about it.”

Leggett said he thinks the situation is “an issue with the service standards not meeting the expectations of residents.”

“I don’t think the city is actually faltering and doing anything (wrong) here,” he said. They’re doing it according to plan, but maybe the plans aren’t good enough. That’s what we’ve got to look into now."

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, the city said the grass at Callingwood Park is mowed every 10-18 days, most recently on Thursday, but that the “off-leash area of Callingwood Park is a natural tree stand and vegetation area and is not mowed.”

It also said garbage bins around the park are emptied weekly, most recently a week ago, and “are scheduled to be revisited this week.” The city also said the maintained trails through the Callingwood Park natural area were inspected on May 8 and were clear of fallen trees or debris that day.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Kenny