Metro Vancouver looking at updating off-leash dog policy at Pacific Spirit Park

Coming to Pacific Spirit Park is one of Golden Retriever Toby’s favourite activities.

“He’s a year-and-a-half old, a lot of energy, he needs to get off-leash and run around,” said Toby’s owner, Alex Shiff.

“This is one of the few places in the city he can do that safely.”

Pacific Spirit Regional Park is over 2,000 acres of forested land, with 65 per cent of its trails being leash-optional. The park attracts more than 360,000 dog visits per year, but due to increasing complaints about negative off-leash dog interactions, Metro Vancouver is looking into its dog-management program for ways to improve the park for all users.

“Over the last couple years, we’ve gotten several hundred complaints and bylaw issues. That’s a concern for us,” said Richard Wallis, Metro Vancouver’s park operations supervisor.

“The review will assess and make improvements to trail signage, trail designation, public education, and enforcement.”

Complaints include aggressive behaviour toward park visitors, fighting between dogs, and in the case of avid runner Annie Cierna, a dog interaction that led to a serious leg injury.

“It ran right between my legs before I even saw it and tripped me. I fell and broke my leg and damaged my knee,” Cierna said

“I’ve gone through multiple rounds of crutches and PT, and a knee surgery and more PT, so it’s been a long road to recovery. I’m hoping we can come up with some way to make the park safer for everyone so what happened to me doesn’t happen to anybody else.”

In a recent Metro Vancouver Parks Committee hearing where residents could offer feedback on the park, Cierna proposed that only the north side of the park be leash-optional with the rest leash-required.

This idea was not received well by other users of the park, with one petition already drawing more than 3,000 signatures.

“The portion north of 16th is not very accessible in terms of parking,” Schiff said.

“It’s very small and there are a number of cliffs that most dog owners wouldn’t feel comfortable taking their dog near.”

Dog-walker Paul Fruitman says rules requiring leashes are not good for anyone.

“All you’re doing is forcing people to tie up their dogs, not allowing dogs to adapt to different scenarios,” he said. “As long as people understand how to walk their dogs and care for them, it’s the ones who don’t who are the problem.”

Wallis says there are over four million visitors to the park yearly, sharing 55 kilometres of trails, so it’s important for dog owners to be responsible.

“We have walkers, joggers, cyclists, even the odd equestrian, so it’s really about sharing the trails and making sure that everybody feels welcome and safe,” he said.

“Have good verbal control of your dog. If you do take it off-leash, in a leash-optional area, have good verbal recall. Carry a leash and pick up after your dog. And you know, it really does take everyone using the trails to think about more than just themselves.”

Metro Vancouver says it hasn’t made any decisions yet but will begin a pilot project this spring and welcomes public feedback in the meantime.