Richmond Hill councillors to consider off-leash dog park options
Contentious dog park issue has raised hackles

January 31, 2014
Richmond Hill Liberal
By  Kim Zarzour

They say every dog has his day, and in Richmond Hill, that will be Monday.

That’s when councillors are slated to debate the contentious issue of off-leash dog parks.

Town staff have prepared a report looking into what should be done about municipal leash-free facilities, presenting two clear choices.

The town can stick with just one large facility — Phyllis Rawlison in the town’s northeast end — and dismantle the smaller park at Tower Hill, or opt to keep the large park as well as several smaller community parks scattered across the municipality.

The topic has raised hackles in the past, after the town’s first off-leash park was established in October 2009 at Tower Hill Road and Yonge Street.

Richmond Hill residents had been asking for a leash-free locale for their pets for decades, but after a site was selected, nearby homeowners expressed concerns about noise, security and parking issues.

A second dog park was opened in September, 2012, in an area away from residential housing, near Leslie Street and 19th Avenue, and council asked for a study to determine if the Tower Hill problems were addressed as a result.

The study, made available yesterday, said problems at the smaller park did, in fact, decrease. The second park alleviated some of the pressure on Tower Hill and both parks were evenly used by dogs and owners, the report said.

However, noise monitoring showed that in areas where background sound is low, the sound of barking dogs is clearly audible at distances of 500 to 750 metres. Barking was one of the issues residents complained about.

The report also looked at how other municipalities handled the issue. Vaughan, Markham and Aurora have just one large drive-to facility at least 200 metres from the nearest residence.

Toronto and Mississauga offer several smaller off-leash facilities embedded in residential neighbourhoods in addition to larger, drive-to facilities.

Providing multiple dog parks would fit with the town’s new official plan calling for the creation of complete communities with a wide variety of services within walking distance, the report said.

A “statistically significant” telephone survey conducted in 2012 also supported the multi-facility model.

Thirty per cent of respondents said they support or strongly support the expenditure of additional public funds on off-leash facilities — a comparable number to those who support soccer fields and indoor tennis courts, and significantly more than support for skateboard parks and indoor soccer fields.

The town recreation plan calls for construction of 14 new soccer fields by 2031, construction of a second skateboard park at Lake Wilcox and two more planned for 2031, and an investigation into the need for indoor tennis facilities.

If the town were to provide multiple dog parks, Tower Hill would fill the need in the centre of town, and a minimum of two additional sites would be required — one south of Elgin Mills Road and one in Oak Ridges, the report said.

These satellite parks would be smaller — about 0.3 hectacres or the size of a junior baseball diamond — and there are potential sites available, according to the report, but would require further investigation and consultation with the neighbourhoods.

The report warns that, based on how homeowners reacted near Tower Hill, the neighbourhood model is contentious for residents in the vicinity.

“While new facilities would not likely be used quite as heavily as the Tower Hill site was when it was first opened (and was the only off-leash facility in the town), it can be expected that any new facility will also be well-used.”

Phyllis Rawlison Park requires users to drive to it, but there have been no complaints from residents in that area, the report says.

Councillors are expected to discuss the findings and decide how to proceed at Monday’s committee of the whole meeting starting at 4:30 p.m.