Dear Editor,

My wife and I live on the North Shore but we visit Richmond from time to time to help out with our grandson.

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Back in June, we took him to a new park and playground near Concord Gardens. He was just fifteen months old and quite mobile and after playing on the slides and other equipment, he decided he wanted to take us for a walk across the lawn area. Luckily, I was looking down as we walked along and was able to prevent him stepping on big pile of fresh dog feces.

Looking around, we noticed several un-scooped mounds of dog waste of various sizes on the lawn area. In another part of the children’s playground where the ground is layered with sand, there were also several dog droppings. Nowhere are there any signs advising dog owners to clean up after their dogs.

Rectifying this matter should be a top priority for council given the number of young families in the area. However, after several emails back and forth with council and parks, nothing has changed. Though this is a publically accessible playground, it is on private property and managed by the Concord Gardens strata, we have been told.

However, a Richmond bylaw states that every owner of a dog must ensure that any excrement deposited on any parcel, other than the parcel of the owner, must be cleaned up immediately.

It is now four months since this matter was bought to the attention of council and though Richmond Parks advise they have been in touch with Rancho Management, the property management group, no action has been taken.

I have also been in contact with Rancho Management and Concord Property Developments with no response.

Michael Trigg

WEST VANCOUVER