Bonnycastle Park named as site of Winnipeg's downtown dog park

Winnipeg pups can soon go off-leash at Bonnycastle Park, which has been selected as the site of the city's downtown dog park.

A 0.15-hectare section of the park, located along Assiniboine Avenue near Garry Street, was chosen following public consultations that started in January.

"The selection of Bonnycastle Park brings us one step closer to the fulfillment of my commitment to open a fenced-in, off-leash dog park in downtown Winnipeg," Mayor Brian Bowman said in a news release.

"It's exciting to see the amenities in downtown Winnipeg beginning to take shape and resemble other areas of Winnipeg. This is a major step towards that goal and the continued revitalization of our downtown."

The off-leash park will include perimeter fencing as well as separate fenced-off areas for small dogs and large dogs. There will be benches, agility equipment, trees and shrubs, lights and waste receptacles.

Construction will begin around the end of September or the beginning of October, once a contractor has been selected, the city says. The work is expected to take three or four weeks.

The City of Winnipeg has budgeted $300,000 for the park, which will serve as a meeting place for the general public as well as for dogs and their owners.

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In addition to Bonnycastle Park, the city looked at possible locations near Assiniboine and Donald Street, along Waterfront Drive and on Notre Dame Avenue and Smith Street.

After about 1,800 people completed an online survey in January, the city hosted an open house to collect feedback on the possible locations.

Residents happy to see downtown dog space

Natalie Dies just moved to the Assiniboine area from Toronto three weeks ago. She and her dog Napolean run through the Bonnycastle Park often and are excited to hear the news.

"I think it's fantastic. I live about a block and a half away and I'm a new resident of Winnipeg and we had to drive about ten to twenty minutes to Maple Grove Park the other day, which is a beautiful area, but to have an off-leash area even closer is pretty awesome," said Dies.

She says having the riverwalk and Legislative grounds nearby is great for on-leash walking but having a space for the dogs to run free will be a huge draw.

"I like to keep him on the leash and go for runs with him but my other half likes to let him off and do the ball and stick thing," she said.

Dies said her dog, a seven-year-old Cockapoo, is very athletic and loves to run around and play. She's happy to see the park will include agility equipment for dogs to play on.

"Having tunnels or beams or something for them to explore would be great," said Dies.

Dies also feels the dog park will make it easier on downtown pet owners to keep their dogs active.

"Especially when the winter comes because I hear it's pretty brutal winters here, it might be nice to just zip down from the apartment, let them do their thing, and then zip back home."