Metro Vancouver reviewing off-leash dog area at regional park following complaints, safety concerns

For some visitors to Vancouver’s Pacific Spirit Regional Park, big changes may well be in the works.

Metro Vancouver is reviewing its Dog Management Program at Pacific Sprit Regional Park.

The review comes in response to safety incidents, complaints and ecological impacts, according to Richard Wallis, Metro Vancouver’s park operations supervisor.

“I know that people love this park and they love walking their dogs here. And there are other people that love the park for other reasons, too,” said Wallis. “We’re just wanting to make sure that we have that access for everyone and that it’s a welcoming, safe environment for everybody.”

The announcement hasn’t been sitting well with many dog owners, who have been speaking out about the potential changes.

“I love this park. It’s super open. It’s got super wide trails,” said Kelly Argue, the head trainer of The Pack Dog Training. “So honestly, I’m pissed.”

“There’s 250 parks in Vancouver, 39 off which are off-leash areas, which only accounts for 16 per cent of the parks are being off leash.”

Roughly two-thirds of the regional park is currently leash-optional.

Metro Vancouver heard during it’s Regional Parks Committee Meeting suggestions on where dogs could be required to be on leash.

A plan to require leashes on the trails south of West 16th Avenue, leaving the northern part of the park leash-optional, was pitched in part by Jen McCutcheon, Metro Vancouver director for Electoral Area A.

She was joined by Dr. Annie Ciernia, a University of British Columbia professor who suffered a tragic injury from encountering an off-leash dog in the park.

Cierna declined an interview with CTV News.

“In the southern part of the park there’s more of a mixture of leash optional and leash required and that’s one of the areas we’re having a close look at,” said Wallis.

Based on the regional district’s review, a phased pilot plan will go into effect later this year, a change Fred Lee wants to prevent.

“It is a very valued space,” said Lee. “We’re finding those spaces more and more limited, where (dogs are) just not allowed to be in a park, or they have to be on leash or we are relegated to a little gravel yard.”

He says responsible dog ownership should be enforced, but blanket restrictions are not helpful. He believes the rationale for them is based on a few isolated incidents.

“As a dog owner, I feel that unleashed dogs are unfairly being targeted,” he said. “If an off-leash dog is truly aggressive or uncontrolled, they will be just as problematic in the northern portion of the park.”

Metro Vancouver says there are also other issues it’s looking at during the review.

“We’re going to review the trail designations, the signage,” said Wallis. “We’re also concerned about the ecological impacts, particularly in the south part of the park. The mature forest is something we need to make sure that we’re protecting.”

An online petition against the potential changes has gathered thousands of signatures so far.