Tag Archives: opinion

Off-Leash Area, six years later.

Leave a reply

The Raymore Park dog off-leash area (DOLA) was opened with some fanfare by Premier Doug Ford’s nephew six years ago. Its design followed standard Toronto Parks and Forestry protocols, namely removal of vegetation and topsoil then replacement with pea-gravel and fenced with rustic poles and rails backed up by a wire containment fence. The aim was to provide an off-leash area where dogs could exercise and socialize safely. The idea, sold at a community presentation was that the DOLA would be used mainly by local residents and that any extra traffic would be minimal.

The site of the present-day DOLA back in October 2008 looking south-west..
The DOLA under construction in February 2017 looking north-west.
Then councillor (red top) Mike Ford at the opening ceremony on July 10, 2017.

The DOLA was built with several design flaws.

1. The small dog enclosure is only accessible by passing through the large dog enclosure.

Small dogs must run the gauntlet to get to their enclosure. July 2017.
The small dog area with landscape fabric in the foreground. July 2023.

2. The pea gravel surface irritates dog paws making exercise out of the question for most.

3. No shade for dogs and owners. A few trees have been planted but these will take many years to mature.

Some trees have been planted but no shade – and harsh pea gravel. July 2023.

4. The space is totally alienated from nature and looks more like a cattle feedlot.

The DOLA and remaining (unused) baseball diamond just north of Emmet Waterfall. Google Maps.

A few observations:

  1. The DOLA is empty most of the day.
  2. The DOLA is popular with commercial dog walkers but a majority of individual owners seem to prefer other parts of Raymore park.
  3. Commercial dog walkers are banned from November through May but many of them use the park year-round.
  4. Compared to the rest of the park, the off-leash section is a barren wasteland.
  5. Thanks to pea gravel making running uncomfortable, dogs get little exercise.
  6. Many people ignore leash by-laws in the park.
  7. The DOLA has done little to protect park wildlife from off-leash dogs.
  8. By-law enforcement seems to have disappeared since Covid.
  9. The DOLA seems to have been a huge waste of money and resources.

Overall Grade: D-

Public Consultation:

A Toronto-wide consultation process was begun in June 2019 to gather feedback on how to improve DOLA design with stakeholder meetings and public surveys. The effort seems to have ground to a halt during Covid as there are no updates beyond this one in 2020.

My two cents: The DOLA should never have been built as there was no demand for it – especially for one so flawed. Far better, cheaper and less disruptive, to have allowed the huge open space between the two unused baseball diamonds to be planted with native trees and create a woodland / wildlife corridor that would join with the one south of the weir.

What might have been – extending the woods north beyond the falls to form a wildlife corridor. Google Maps.

Extra Credit: Read Maria Kwok’s thorough review of Raymore Park’s DOLA here.