As part of changes being considered for the 2018 Town of Canmore budget, council has been asked to approve significant changes to the largest and most popular off-leash dog area in the community.
As part of changes being considered for the 2018 Town of Canmore budget, council has been asked to approve significant changes to the largest and most popular off-leash dog area in the community.
Administration has proposed to council a new 2018 capital project for $110,000 to completely fence the Quarry Lake dog park area.
But the changes go beyond fencing, with administration also informing council a pilot project for a looped off-leash trail introduced last year at the park has not successfully changed behaviour in the area and is being eliminated.
“It was a trial and we were hoping to be observing greater compliance and that has not entirely been the case,” said manager of planning and development Alaric Fish said. “Another option would be more enforcement up there.”
General manager of municipal infrastructure Michael Fark said as of right now, administration is recommending to only fence the open field as the approved off-leash area and the fence would make it very clear to the public where dogs are required to have a leash and where they are not.
“It is to provide clarity for those visiting the park,” he said. “It is more easily delegated and easier f or bylaw to enforce.”
Fark said the municipality has been working on addressing the issue of human use in wildlife corridors, and in particular the proliferation of off-leash dogs in these areas as a result.
He said one of the reasons for the pilot trail, which provides a one-kilometre loop to a pond area and back to the open space park, was to provide a place for dog owners to take their dogs that allowed them to be off-leash and access water.
It was also a way to address the fact that dog owners have been taking their furry friends into areas designated as wildlife corridor space while off leash. The issue was measured by Alberta Parks through an 18-month remote camera study that found high human use of wildlife corridors and significant off-leash dog activity in those nearby areas.
Fark said when it came to changing behaviour, administration feels the pilot project did not have resulted in the desired outcome.
“In fact, we found we are not changing behaviour, but caused confusion with bylaw services about what could be enforced and what they could not,” he said.
The pilot project made the off-leash dog areas boundaries more complicated, and harder to enforce for bylaw staff, according to the project summary description.
Furthermore, dogs are prohibited at Quarry Lake itself, and both residents and visitors regularly ignore the regulation and signage.
Fark said discussions are ongoing with the province over how to manage human use, and dogs, in these areas. The area that surrounds the lake and dog park is a provincial park and managed by the province.
The proposed capital project would fence the park with 1.2 metre high sheep wire.
“What we are trying to get is approval for the best solution possible, but we do not exactly know what that looks like yet,” Fish said.
General manager of municipal services Sally Caudill said the Quarry Lake area, including the dog park, is a significant part of the overall conversation in the community happening around living with wildlife.
That one location has multiple landowners and stakeholders involved in decisions around land management, as was witnessed this summer with the activity of bear 148 in that very location.
“This is part of a larger conversation around wildlife,” Caudill said. “If we are going to take our role seriously, this is one of the most significant areas in town we will have to have those conversations around.”
While the budget item does not contemplate enforcement, council did discuss the issue, but did not change the budget to increase enforcement of this issue for 2018.
Mayor John Borrowman noted that bylaw services has taken a different direction over the past several years away from strict enforcement and toward more educational interactions.
“Bylaw could issue a ticket, but they choose not to and are more educational,” he said.
But Councillor Joanna McCallum noted that during the election the issue of a lack of enforcement of the regulations was something she heard from residents.
“I think the balance in that is we do not want to be a super rulesy town. That is what is cool about Canmore, we live in a laid back community. But at the same time we have behavioural parameters because of where we live that requires a certain level of policy,” McCallum said. “Are we meeting those goals? Are we meeting community expectations of those goals and at the same time without being too rulesy?”
Coun. Esmé Comfort, who sits as the council member on Wildsmart, lauded its ambassador program as something that should be looked at in terms of addressing these issues.
She said Wildsmart does not have the resources to do the kind of outreach work they would like to be doing in the community on trails and in parks.
“I think what we want to do is something that is effective and reaches the outcome,” Comfort said. “I think there might be a multi-pronged approach and a better use of volunteers and the Wildsmart ambassador program.”
Meanwhile, council approved developing two new off-leash dog parks – one near Hubman Landing and another along Palliser Trail.
In a narrow 4-3 vote to approve before the municipal election, council supported the project as a way to encourage dog owners in both residential areas to walk their dogs on-leash.
The Quarry Lake dog park fencing is a proposed change to the 2018 budget, and as such is it not yet approved. Council is expected to make its final decision on the project, as well as its scope, at a regular business meeting in December.
