Editor:
The changing of the one-kilometre loop trail connecting dog park and dog pond from off- to on-leash is logically baffling.
Introduced in 2017 to observe people’s behaviour, yet without proper signage marking the designated off-leash and transition areas, the one-km loop is deemed too confusing an area for dog-walkers and peace officers to navigate.
The resulting solution?
Returning the loop to an on-leash area, with explicit signage to signal the transition between on- and off-leash areas, to reduce confusion of dog-walkers.
Isn’t the lack of signs for the experimental off-leash loop the source of confusion for dog-walkers?
In that case, installing signs explaining where the loop begins and ends, and thus the division of on- and off-leash zones, is the action needed for confused dog-walkers only with a different message.
The reversion to an on-leash loop seems like a solution not suited to the issue at hand: supposedly, that of unclear zone designation.
We must ask ourselves: does this splicing and designating of on- and off-leash areas make it easier to navigate for law-abiding citizens, or is it reverting to an on-leash zone for different reasons?
The dog park is a beautiful area to let your dog run free without rummaging through the sacred wildlife corridor. As is the dog pond. It seems only logical to allow the 10-minute walk between them also remain an off-leash area.
If making the loop into an on-leash area is, in actuality, an effort to mitigate disruption to the Quarry Lake wildlife district, let us address and discuss that for what it is directly, and not hide behind imprecise reasoning.
Nicola Davies,
Canmore
