Dog parks within walking distance for all: City of Richmond
Richmond, B.C. builds four new parks as pilot project, now must decide whether to keep them
Compared to other municipalities in Metro Vancouver, Richmond, B.C. is in the dog house when it comes to off-leash space.
The city has recognized that there are few places where dog-owners can let their pets roam, run, and chase without wearing a leash, so this past year it built four new off-leash parks as part of a pilot project.
There are 7,100 licensed dogs in Richmond.
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"Essentially, what we're trying to achieve is to have most residents be able to access a dog park within walking distance of their home," said Marie Fenwick, manager of parks for the City of Richmond.
On Nov. 9, city council will decide whether or not to keep the parks, but it is expected to endorse them despite some complaints about grass being destroyed, and noise.
Fenwick says the city is committed to getting even more off-leash parks in Richmond — beyond the four built for the pilot project. By comparison the City of Vancouver has more than 35 dog parks.
"We still have some areas of need that we're looking at," she said. "So as we expand our park system, we sort of look at it with new parks."
With files from the CBC's Jesse Johnston