Temporary dog parks are set to pop-up around Saanich over the course of this summer, starting on June 29.
Five new pop-up parks will appear, coming to life for two weeks at a time rotating through different Saanich parks.
The pilot program will see temporary fencing set up at each location for the two-week stint in order to create a dog-friendly space within each Saanich park.
“We want our beautiful parks to be enjoyable and comfortable spaces for all users and we want to support responsible dog owners,” said Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee Chair and Councillor Judy Brownoff. “Through the pop-up program, we’ll gather information that will be useful for our upcoming District-wide dog strategy.”
The schedule for the pop-up dog parks is below:
- Fowler Park June 29 to July 12
- Hyacinth Park July 13 to July 26
- Gorge Park July 27 to August 9
- Rudd Park August 10 to August 23
- Cadboro-Gyro Park August 24 to September 7
The pop-up dog parks will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily from June 29 to September 8 with the exception of the first day in each location when the areas will be open for use late afternoon.
The District of Saanich says the five parks selected for the pilot project have adequate parking. Additional garbage cans will be set up as well for the duration of the pop-up.
Saanich says it has chosen not to run the pop-ups in natural area parks or on fields used for organized sports.
Council will be monitoring the program and attempting to gather feedback from residents in order to help make future decisions surrounding dog parks and gain a better understanding of the most suitable locations for any future off-leash areas.
Council says it approved $30,000 in funding from the Council Strategic Initiatives Fund to run the pop-up program this summer.
Graham Cox
