Kelowna could see 3 new dog parks pop up shortly

Your furry four-legged pooch may soon have a few more places to play in Kelowna.

Kelowna city council on Monday will consider the development of three new dog parks within the city.

The proposed parks are at Poplar Point, the Downtown Sails and Lake Avenue. City staff is directing staff to prepare budget proposals in the 2017 capital budget for the development of off-leash parks at Poplar Point and Downtown Sails.

The Lake Avenue off-leash park could go through, if approved, on a two-year trial basis.

Staff is also recommending council to not proceed with the further development of an off-leash park at Munson Pond.

To make sure City of Kelowna staff heard from the people who would actually be using the parks, a survey was handed out in January and February of this year.

Results showed that the majority of residents (55 per cent), both dog owners and non-owners, felt more dog beaches were needed in Kelowna. Five areas were identified based on community feedback. Those included four beaches and one park.

Concept plans were developed and sessions were held at four of the locations to seek feedback from residents.

Poplar Point

Poplar Point is one of the smaller locations, however, the proximity to Knox Mountain makes it an ideal location for a dog beach. Owners already use the park, according to city staff, so making it an official beach wouldn’t be difficult.

The Sails

The Sails mini beach received a lot of support from the community. The beach - for the most part - is already contained by an existing wall, but staff says instead of putting up ugly fencing, they’d want dogs to stay on leashes in that park.

Lake Avenue

Lake Avenue received a lot of opposition from residents in the neighbourhood, but also much support from the wider community.

City staff said this space has many advantages over the other sites. The space is larger than the other options and there is ample parking in City Park, on the north side of the Bennett bridge

Staff is recommending this park to go forward on a two-year trial, concluding in 2019.

Councillors will discuss the dog park options on Monday and KelownaNow will update the story when decisions are made.