The City of Ottawa will clarify its policies about animals in Vanier parks this spring in response to complaints. In some Vanier parks it is currently unclear whether or not dogs are allowed in the area, and the changes will specify the rules.
Rideau-Vanier, ward 12, was associated with 780 bylaw services calls regarding animals in 2013, more than any other ward in Ottawa according to City of Ottawa Open Data records.
Source: “311- Monthly Service Request Submissions” by Ken Osmun, City of Ottawa. Available at http://data.ottawa.ca/en/dataset/311-monthly-service-request-submissions.
City Councillor Mathieu Fleury, who is responsible for ward 12, said most of the calls he receives about animals are related to interactions with dogs. Fleury said many of the callers ask whether or not dogs are allowed to be in Vanier parks.
The City of Ottawa’s Animal Care and Control bylaw specifies that dogs are not allowed in parks that have a sign indicating that dogs are prohibited in the area. But some parks in Vanier have no sign at all, which creates confusion among park users.
“Because they had no designation it was ambiguous,” Fleury said. “And now we’re clarifying that.”
The lack of designation has been an issue in recent years.
“In Vanier, since amalgamation, none of the parks were ever designated or re-designated for animal uses,” Fleury said. “I know that in the past that’s created a lot of conflict.”
Michele Witteveen, who lives in Vanier, said it’s difficult to find a park that she can let her two dogs run around in off-leash.
“There are quite a few that aren’t dog friendly,” Witteveen said. “It kind of sucks because they don’t get the energy out that they need to.”
Some residents let their dogs roam the parks off-leash anyway.
“Even in the places where you’re not supposed to have dogs I see a lot of people with their dogs off-leash,” Witteveen said.
Fleury said he recognizes that dog owners need to have a place to go with their dogs.
“A lot of the reality is that if you live in rural areas your animal has a lot of space, and it’s probably on your property,” Fleury said. “In the urban core, chances are you live in smaller unit sizes and you need more of the green space.”
Richelieu Park and Riverain Park will both become more dog-friendly as a result of the new designations. Fleury said he hopes the changes will minimize conflicts between dog owners and other members of the public who use Vanier parks.
While Rideau-Vanier was associated with the greatest number of bylaw services calls regarding animals in 2013, calls about animals were fairly even across the city. The calls associated with Rideau-Vanier accounted for only 8% of the total.
Animals were one of the main reasons for calls to the City of Ottawa last year. The City of Ottawa received 9,441 calls regarding animals, which represents 24% of all bylaw services calls made in 2013.
Animals were the second most frequent cause for report after noise, but not all of the calls were complaints.
Ken Osmun, the author of the bylaw services calls data, wrote in an email response that some calls about animals “are related to pet licensing (dog and cat tags), information about exotic pet ownership and animals on municipal roads.”
Fleury said his office is responsive to calls about animals.
“We follow up, we look at what the policy is,” Fleury said.
Fleury said he holds public information sessions to ensure people know the rules.
“We’re not there to slam on fines, we’re there to inform and educate,” Fleury said.
Click here to see a list of Vanier parks that are currently designated for animal use.
Click here for more information on City of Ottawa animal policies.