Waterloo council approves new temporary leash-free park

Dogs will soon be able to run leash-free in Waterloo. CTV’s Karis Mapp has details of a new temporary spot.

Dogs will have a new place to run free thanks to a unanimous decision by Waterloo council.

City councillors reviewed a report from the Parks, Forestry and Cemetery Services department on Monday afternoon, which encouraged council to approve a new temporary leash-free dog park at the Westmount Road entrance to Waterloo Park.

Ultimately, councillors voted in favour of the $45,000 project.

“This was obviously an unbudgeted item that was presented to staff at this point, [it] wasn’t identified in the three-year budget, and it wasn’t identified in our work plan,” Robin Milne, the city’s Director of Parks, Forestry and Cemetery Services, said. “We threw together a number of locations that seemed to be feasible within the Uptown area. This presented itself as an option that was immediately ready, in terms of a pop-up.”

Staff said preparation to set up the park will start immediately, with the hope to have everything ready by the end of the summer.

“We would call a company, and they would set the fencing up, secure it with stakes. It would have a very temporary or pop-up look to it,” Milne explained.

The temporary park would remain in place for approximately two years while staff looked for a permanent place for a dog park.

“The Waterloo Park plan, as a whole, I think needs to be reviewed before we determine that this would be a permanent location for a leash free dog park,” Milne explained.

City staff will collect feedback about other potential sites that could host the permanent dog park and present what they learn to council as part of the 2027 capital budget process.

Some of the considerations include: land size and location, accessibility, safety and security, as well as amenities and infrastructure for waste disposal, shade and lighting.

The temporary site would remain open until a permanent leash-free dog park is built.