Gone to the dogs: City ready to convert more skating rinks into dog parks
Good news for Edmonton dog owners.
The city hopes a dog-friendly idea will spread to more outdoor skating rinks next year.
This summer, the city launched a pilot project that allows community leagues to convert outdoor ice surfaces into off-leash parks during the warmer months.
Only Westmount has signed on so far, but the city isn't ready to put the idea on ice.
After the success of the first season, the project is ready to expand next spring, said program co-ordinator Amanda Brown.
She expects there will be a few more dog parks by next summer.
"More leagues are getting interested as they hear about the success Westmount is having," Brown said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.
"I think we're going to see quite an increase in the number of leagues joining."
The pilot was launched after the success of similar projects in other Alberta communities, Brown said.
Rinks left empty and padlocked throughout the summer months can make perfect fenced play areas for dogs.
"We had heard from lots of residents that other municipalities nearby, like Strathcona County and St. Albert, were already using rinks for off leash with really great success," Brown said. "So there was sort of a call out asking, 'Why isn't Edmonton doing that?'
Unlike St. Albert and Strathcona County, Edmonton does not manage its outdoor neighbourhood rinks. The Edmonton facilities are leased and licensed by the community leagues, and it's up to those individual organizations to decide if they want to manage dog parks, Brown said.
"We're really working to encourage leagues to use them for that purpose and support them as much as we can on that."
For rinks to be considered, Brown said, they must be fully boarded with grass, not cement, underfoot.
The rink may not be used for any other recreational activity when it's open to dogs, and the grounds must be well-maintained throughout the season.
Weatherproof signs with bylaw information must be posted on site, with bins provided for pet waste.
Bylaw officers will enforce the rules.
"There has to be proper signage letting the owners know the days of the week and the hours that it's open, but also about the bylaws, of which picking up your dog poo is definitely a big one," Brown said.
Once closed for the season, rink areas must be cleaned to ensure they're ready for winter.
The pilot is all part of the city's Dogs in Open Spaces Strategy, approved in 2016, which replaces a set of city guidelines that had not been updated since the 1990s. There are currently more than 40 off-leash sites in Edmonton. The 10-year planning document aims to expand that number.
"We've already got a few leagues contact us, asking us to get started on this process," Brown said. "It's looking really promising."
