Lacombe Park will get split roughly in half with a $65,000 fence in an effort to mitigate safety concerns at the city’s most-used dog park.
And despite a plea from Mayor Nolan Crouse to require dog-park fencing to be done with shrubs and hedges, the fence will instead be chain link.
Before passing a motion Sept. 26 to install the four-foot chain-link fence – with Crouse casting the only opposing vote – council defeated Crouse’s motion.
Crouse said his concern was that a chain link fence would be unsightly and out of line with the “Botanical Arts City” brand.
“To me, it’s just going to be hard to stomach that we’re going to have a chain link fence at Lacombe Park,” he said. “It’s hard for me to even envision.”
Other councillors expressed skepticism that hedges, especially in the first few years, would provide a sufficient barrier to actually keep dogs in.
“My big dogs can get through any hedge when they want to get to the other side,” Coun. Cathy Heron said.
Coun. Wes Brodhead suggested planting mature bushes could achieve an impermeable fence right away, and ultimately supported Crouse’s motion, but he was the only one and it was defeated 5-2.
An administrative report on the need for a fence at Lacombe Park cited public feedback from a public survey that included questions about dog-friendly parks and off-leash areas in the city. Among the results is the fact 69 per cent of respondents said there should be physical boundaries like fences or hedges at dog parks.
Several councillors reported hearing from residents near the park that conflict between dog owners and non-dog owners has become an issue. Some people with small children won’t even use the park because of concerns about off-leash dogs there.
Heron said while her preference would have been to keep the entire city as an off-leash area, she’s heard that there are more problems for residents at Lacombe Park.
“It is now completely hindering the public enjoyment of the area,” she said. “I think this fence is somewhat needed, just to reduce that conflict and to allow what we do have left in off-leash (areas) to be a positive experience.”
Coun. Bob Russell said he believed there was a significant safety issue at the site, and council had an obligation to act.
“It reduces conflict, and I also say it provides safety,” he said. “That’s key as far as I’m concerned.”
Coun. Cam MacKay agreed, noting his concern is finding a middle ground to ensure all users can feel comfortable at the park.
“It’s just a fence,” he said. “At the end of the day it looks like a good balance between two user groups.”
The fence will create about three hectares of off-leash space at the park, with a roughly 500-metre fence running from the northwest corner of the park all the way south on the west side of the lake to the parking lot. The lake itself won’t be included in the off-leash area.
The recommended $65,000 price tag includes a fence for $30,000, and another $35,000 for planting trees and bushes along the fence line. The money will come from a reserve that dog-owners pay into via the city’s dog-licence surcharge, meaning owners themselves will effectively pay for the work.
Recreation and parks director Diane Enger said she expected work would begin in 2017 once the ground thaws.
Aside from the concerns about appearance, Crouse also said the fact that the off-leash area will not include the dog beach at the lake is a big concern, noting council approved the bank stabilization work on the understanding there would be a dog beach there.
“It’s pretty substantial in terms of the amount of work that went into that dog beach,” he said. “Are we saying now that dog beach is off limits?”
Parks and recreation director Diane Enger confirmed the beach itself would not be an off-leash area, but noted her department didn’t realize the intent of the lake was to be a dog beach.
“I wasn’t of the understanding that’s part of the design moving forward,” she said.
Allowing dogs access to the lake was included in the city’s original concept plans for the $2 million bank stabilization project, but is not now listed on the project description on the city’s website.
