Changes are coming to the Beach Grove off-leash dog park to address safety concerns.

Delta council recently approved recommendations from city staff to make changes to the dog park adjacent to the Beach Grove Elementary playground after concerns were raised about dog interactions with children and dog feces.

article continues below

While the school principal said he hadn’t witnessed or heard about injuries to children, he said school staff identified previous instances of conflicts with off-leash dogs.

A nearby resident, meanwhile, expressed concern about the absence of a barrier around the school playground.

A report to council notes that staff undertook one-month monitoring this June, which documented 14 instances of off-leash dogs in and around the playground.

The city expressed concern about putting up a fence around the playground due to “the potential of extreme behavior in a dog” should it find itself trapped, while there was also concern some dog owners might use it as a containment area for their dogs.

Staff recommended the designated off-leash area in the park be reconfigured to move it further from the playground and also have sections of low-level fencing installed along the edge of the off-leash area closest to the playground.

There will also be signage advising park users they are leaving the off-leash area and their dogs must be leashed.

Eight years ago the city designated 13 off-leash areas, including a portion of Beach Grove Park.