Dog Off Leash Areas Planning and Implementation (February 14, 2023)

... Doggy Do's and Don'ts & Pop Up Dog Off Leash Areas

Feb 14, 2023

Vlog Overview

My return to the academy (in 2014) to earn a PhD after 32 years of parks planning and operationalization of recreation and leisure services practice (1982-2014) uncovered many practice realities extensively studied by researchers. This dual lens allows me to share my lived experience as a planner - a unique inside (practice)/outside (research) perspective (and visa-versa) to bridge the two worlds. I will share park development policy and practice decision-making practice using an academic lens (i.e., institutional theory).

Each vlog, called Ice Sculptures, will have a short video presentation followed by some key takeaway notes. I will use lots of “I” and “me” to personalize my experiences, with lots of examples. My personality is such that I like to have fun, be a bit irreverent, hence some of my memes, bad puns and (weak) attempts at humour. My goal is to provide a level of nuance to seen and unseen aspects of decision-making processes. I have opinions or positions that may or may not be popular with my planning brothers and sisters, or elected officials. The vlog provides an informed perspective, but my perspectives and opinions based on my experiences studies. Those who know me may also recognize my perspectives may have evolved since my studies. Use my perspectives as you see fit.

Many thanks to YEG Parks and the City of Edmonton for access to photographs. None of what I share represents the opinions or positions of either organization. “Pitter patter lets get at ‘er!”

Todays Ice Sculpture

Dog Off Leash Area Planning and Implementation

Dog off leash areas act as a gateway activity that creates active urban populations in our urban parks that contribute to broader health and wellness goals of sustainable city development - but they can be controversial. Off leash areas are very popular for the almost always vocal dog community (institution), but not for everyone. This vlog will instead focus on the nuts and bolts (the dos and don’ts) of service planning and implementation. The picture below is a downtown park in Edmonton that includes a small fenced artificial turf dog off leash area.

The Why?

Benefits research bears out the quintessential outcomes of recreational activity for the human population provided by the dog off leash park use (i.e., health and wellness, ecological, social and economic) - getting exercise, connecting with your neighbours, making new friends with like interests, sharing information about their new dog collars or leashes purchased nearby, grabbing some free vitamin C, earning income training new pet owners, all on a green space that acts passively soaking up excess rainwater, trees sequestering moisture and pollutants and together reducing urban temperatures. Dog ownership is very popular and owners re very passionate about treating their pets well. Dog walking and exercise/happens year round, even on the coldest of days - dogs also love to “enjoy the go.” (bad pun intended).

An excerpt from Edmontons Dogs in Open Spaces Strategy (2016) captures the City rationale, albeit somewhat incomplete:

With an increasing population of dogs in cities, and with more Canadian households having dogs than children, there is growing demand for cities to accommodate residents and their dogs in public places. Many municipalities are recognizing Dog Off Leash Areas as legitimate uses of public parks with potential benefits to dog owners and to the city more broadly. For example, Off Leash Areas can foster healthy activity and social well being, can provide increased “eyes on the park” to deter crime, and can reduce unsanctioned off leash activity in more sensitive sites. At the same time, problems with dog waste, noise, and conflicts with other park uses need to be mitigated at Off Leash Areas. Careful planning, design and management is critical to ensure that the benefits of Off Leash Areas outweigh their drawbacks.

The “How”

Edmontons rationale includes some important information, but I have two nigglies. First and foremost, it starts with a discussion of a growing number of dogs. This is not a recreation and leisure based rationale, which is surprising because most of them will appear on park lands, and all pubic and private sites provide health and wellness benefits not limited to the dogs. Dogs activate their sometimes sedentary owners to connect with their neighbours and nature on public lands. You see evidence of the benefits in social media posts.

Second, the last line of the rationale speaks to how off leash areas benefits must outweigh the dis-benefits. I have never seen a recreation document with this “positioning.” Community gardens, sports fields, playgrounds are ok, until they are not serving the community? While that is implied in recreation and leisure service delivery, we don’t preface a planning document in that way. The strategy feels like a forced marriage, where the social, health and wellness benefits of this activity appears to be on probation, optional, and could be eliminated through strategy management practices🤔. Physical exercise is especially important for the dog owners at a time when communities have growing rates of obesity, and increasing rates of some types of cancers, type II diabetes, plus mental health and addictions challenges.

I suspect the positioning is based on the controversial nature of the activity on park lands. I will explore the dynamics of that public discourse in a second vlog called “The Dog Off Leash (in) Parks Institution.” If you understand the why of that discourse, it should inform the “how” provided in this vlog.

Share Parks Are Like Icebergs

Site Considerations

Municipalities seeking to establish a dogs in open spaces planning and implementation guidelines often embark (pun intended) on a best practices review. Such documents are easily accessible and easy to find. However, from a generic perspective I will summarize key items you may need to consider using Edmontons strategy as a starting point.

Goals and Outcomes (I added this)
- Dog off leash spaces should be positioned as supporting human health and wellness benefits and outcomes of park users, increases the use of existing inventory of lands and associated public investments (public lands), both linked to the strategic plan of the municipality.
Planning Guidelines
- Classification, Parking and Access, Distribution, Site Uses and Adjacencies, Adding and Deleting Sites, Funding (capital and operating).
Design Guidelines
- Boundary and Edge Conditions, Amenities, Circulation, Environmental Protection, Winter Conditions, Surface Materials, Signage, Waste Management, Drainage and Erosion Control, Public Health and Safety.
Management Guidelines
- General Maintenance, Education and Communication, Community Stewardship, Enforcement, Rules and Codes of Conduct, Monitoring and Evaluation.
Data Gathering (I added this too)
- Annual rotating four season observation studies of sites including one on one semi-structured interviews with dog off leash ambassadors and park users. Questions include operational issues, park amenity development, use and user characteristics, benefits derived, etc.

The above “categories” are important operationalization components that support the community efforts in transforming spaces into places, while simultaneously contributing to the health and wellness of residents.

Reflecting on My Practice and Studies Lived Experiences

Guidelines like Edmontons Dogs in Open Spaces Strategy are important because they link the planning of sites to the operationalization of services - in one document. This allows for identification of resources requirements including state and non-state institutional actors roles and responsibilities. The guidelines are also a tacit recognition of the community co-production of place. Co-production leads to relational sense of ownership of our public lands. In my opinion, that is a good thing, even if it can become contested.

How exactly are these guidelines applied? I provided an earlier vlog on how the Urban Parks Management Plan, a Parks Master Plan policy and standards document, was applied to the development of an area plan (Pulling Back the Curtain: Area Plan Parks Systems Planning September 22, 2022). The topic and setting is very different, but it gives you a sense of the practice and nuance of policy application but on a much larger scale.

There are two scenarios to consider when planning for a dog off leash site: the more common opportunity in an existing neighbourhood, and identification in an area plan approval process.

Existing Developed Area and Park Lands. If you are seeking to establish a dog off leash in an existing area, you are inevitably seeking to replace an existing use. Do we really know the lived experiences of the place you suggest for use? How do you know? What processes are you using with and for the neighbourhood to understand the impact of displaced activities or needs? Who initiated a proposal? Why have dogs here? What is the dog off leash network in the area? What else could happen here instead of dogs off leash, like community gardens?

In implementing the review process, who is interpreting the (fairly stringent) guidelines? What role does the community have in interpreting the guidelines? Has all relevant information been shared in making the decision? Has the community lined up committed to operational aspects? There is no single tip or protocol that will allow state and non-state actors to interpret “properly.” By its nature its nature interpretation is very subjective. My only insight - keep an open mind and use your best active listening skills. I know I failed at times in that regard.

A caveat to how we conceptualize unstructured green space being considered for dog off leach use. Unstructured open grassed areas are assumed to be under utilized and in need of development which may or may not be true. It depends on the lens you are using. Passive unstructured green space is a legitimate leisure program and activity for casual reading, sun tanning, playing catch, playing with children, having a picnic, interacting with nature, etc. Not all park users like programmed spaces or partake in programmed activities. The grassy area is also providing ecological goods and services and reduces urban heat islands. A green buffer may separate less compatible uses, or simply provide a feeling of space more broadly in the neighbourhood. Sustainable city development is creating more dense multi-family sites and narrower lot lines for those that cannot afford large lots and big homes. This means that private green spaces will be reduced, particularly for those with lower incomes who live in apartments. This unstructured breathing space may well represent a loss to the community, and should be explored in any park land change process.

Borden Park Unstructured Spaces Source: YEG Parks

Area Plan Approval Processes. Planning for a specific dog off leash site in an area plan approval process is problematic because there is no community in place to help with the site management. I actually like the idea of dog off leash as one of many options in the future. However, I recommend against a specific dog off leash site used as an amenity to “sell” the neighbourhood area plan in the review process. It may create expectations absent a community to implement.

Pop-Up Dog Parks

The City of Edmonton recent “Pop Up Dog Off Leash Areas” initiative creates temporary dog off leash areas. I support dog off leash on park lands, but its success is entirely dependent on application and interpretation of the guidelines with and for the community - a very human process. The best starting point is always the community. I would start with the local community league and engage in a process with the local residents near these sites. The city wide strategy is a starting point for community engagement, not the end. There are multiple city employees who have historically engaged with the community on park lands and other public lands in park land change processes (park land institutional actors such as recreation coordinators). If the project is to be initiated by the administration, start with your internal park land institutional actors who then can connect with the community. If initiated by the community the idea may be brought to you by those same park institutional actors for process creation and review.

I will be interested to see how the one year trial period evolves, and what learnings will be gained. I would suggest baseline observation studies occur throughout the year, and the tension (if any) of removal of sites (if any). I would also recommend the City do a follow up process to close the loop on this most recent pilot project before they add more sites.

Finally, I strongly suggest that you view the next vlog called the Dog Off leash (in) Parks Institution (next - February 15, 2023) to hear about a practice example (Jackie Parker Park), and its implications for park land planning and service operationalization.

Parks Are Like Icebergs