Pacific Spirit dog park update

Good morning,

I had the pleasure of meeting a couple Lookout readers at a group dinner last week! It’s always fun hearing directly from all of you.

I am loving my new apartment, but one thing I had to compromise on was allowing dogs in the unit. I don’t have one now, but plan on getting one in the future. Here in Mount Pleasant, it seems like every second person is walking around with one.

I’ve always found the city less favorable to dogs than other places. In Europe, you could take your dog into most cafes. When I lived in Toronto, I took my dog on transit off-hours.

Not so in Vancouver. Sure, there’s so much outdoor space, but much of it requires a vehicle to get there, since you can’t take dogs on transit. And it’s why the recent news about Pacific Spirit Park potentially limiting off-leash areas for dogs was met with vigorous opposition.

In today’s story from Julie Chadwick, she breaks down the issue, as well as putting it into political context, as well as a quote I couldn’t get out of my head around comparing dog incidents to vehicle incidents.

Let’s get to it!

— Geoff Sharpe, Lookout founder and managing editor

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free. 

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INFRASTRUCTURE

'Give us space for our dogs': Vancouver pet owners fight back, and win, against off-leash cuts

By Julie Chadwick

On Wednesday, regional district directors voted to pause changes to the leash-optional trails in Metro Vancouver’s Pacific Spirit Regional Park.

Proposed changes included cutting the leash-optional trails down from 65 per cent of the park’s network to 51 per cent as part of a new dog management plan that aimed to come into effect on May 6. The changes were due in part to what Metro Vancouver described as nearly 400 safety incidents between dogs and other park users over five years, and ecological impacts due to feces and trail erosion.

The 860-hectare park located on the west side of Vancouver near the University of British Columbia is used by an estimated four million visitors annually, with about a third of those visiting with a dog, according to Metro Vancouver Regional Parks.

Local dog owners pushed back against the changes with petitions that gathered thousands of signatures and a delegation at Wednesday’s committee meeting that disputed Metro Vancouver’s framing of the issue. 

Local resident Candy Saga laid out several issues, including that the proposed changes undermine a situation that the vast majority of dog owners are satisfied with, that the changes don’t meet Metro Vancouver’s own stated aims, and that the plan’s design flaws actually increase risks rather than mitigate them.

Removing certain trail loops means off-leash dog walkers would become more crowded, and switching a current narrow off-leash trail to an on-leash trail comes with its own problems when dogs pass each other, she said.

“Many dogs who are on-leash become more … reactive because they feel like they’re trapped on their leash and can’t back away,” she said. 

In the end, the directors voted to not proceed with the trail changes and are instead focusing on enhanced signage, education and enforcement. Whether the off-leash areas will come up for review in the future is unclear, and representatives from Metro Vancouver did not return Vancity Lookout’s request for comment by deadline.

Area dog owners are concerned there is still a long way to go when it comes to adequate off-leash spaces and making Vancouver a more dog-friendly city in general.

“Definitely, we're lacking places to just really take our dogs and meet where they can just go and be free and get the exercise that they really need, especially living in the city,” says Kitsilano-based Samantha Wade, a professional dog walker.

She thinks the backlash to the Pacific Spirit changes was because it was one of the few spaces where dogs can be in a natural environment and have space to run.

“Yes, you have a few of these fenced-in dog parks that are popping up, but then they get so congested and they're too busy. And if you've got 15, 20 dogs all in this very small space, it's a bit too much, and you're just asking for trouble, really. So even the dog parks then become not desirable to go to, because it's just chaos,” she says.

The Kitsilano/Point Grey area is especially underserved when it comes to leash-free parks, says Devyani Singh, a local resident who started a petition over the Pacific Spirit changes and is part of an off-leash advocacy group in Kitsilano.

“There are a few bad dog owners, and because of that, you can't take away stuff from 99 per cent of the good dog owners,” she says. “We were going to a local park at 7:30 in the morning to exercise our dogs and they were giving bylaw tickets of like, $150 each. And so we were like, 'You don't give us dog parks, you don't allow us to exercise them before anybody uses a park, and then you take away the only off-leash area, and we pay license fees. That's not fair.”

Though up-to-date numbers are hard to find, a 2016 City of Vancouver survey estimated the number of households with dogs in the city as somewhere between 32,000 and 55,000. The city has also estimated there are approximately 150,000 dogs living in the city, and lists 37 off-leash parks, though in 2023 two new and one renewed off-leash areas were approved by council.

Mayor Ken Sim waded into the controversy on Feb. 2 stating on X that he “stand[s] with Vancouver dog owners” in opposition to the Pacific Spirit park changes. However, according to Vancouver Park Board minutes, three of Sim’s ABC-affiliated commissioners voted against those new off-leash dog parks back in 2023.

Sim did not return Vancity Lookout’s request for comment, but Vancouver city councillor and park board commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky says that at that time he was a member of the mayor’s ABC party, and was instructed by the mayor’s then-chief of staff to vote against the off-leash parks — something he refused to do.

“We said, ‘No, that's not how it works.’ So we pushed back,” he says. “Our role as commissioners is park development, and one of the desperate needs in the city was off-leash areas. Off-leash areas are very widely liked because they separate dogs from other park users. And so the parks that were chosen followed public engagement assessment of where the needs were and which parks were appropriate.”

Since the pandemic, there’s been a “huge increase” in dog ownership among Vancouver residents, he adds, and as a commissioner he says they work closely with the community to understand what works and what doesn’t. One example is in the newly revamped General Brock and Emery Barnes parks, where they’ve created separate areas for larger boisterous dogs and quieter and shyer dogs.

“The early feedback we've had from both user groups is that they like that. Even within the dog community, we've been able to find ways to give both groups access to off-leash areas,” he says.

Singh agrees, and says the solutions to these issues are fairly simple.

“It's like 0.002 per cent of all incidents in the park are bad incidents. You have more car road accidents and fatalities. We don't go about banning cars because it's unsafe. We educate, we take other measures,” she says. 

Some of those measures include encouraging dog owners to be more responsible via licensing and enforcement, and allowing dogs to be off-leash in neighbourhood parks during non-peak times.

“Give us a couple parks in every neighbourhood before 9 a.m. where we are allowed to exercise our dogs before work,” she says. “We’ve got to do something. The city won't be the city I love anymore if this is how it continues.”

SPONSORED BY LUNARFEST VANCOUVER

Play, explore, win: Lunar Trivia takes over Granville Island for Family Day weekend

This Lunar New Year, celebrate with LunarFest for the first-ever Trivia Game on Granville Island!

Take a walk around the island and visit 20 fantastic stores from arts, crafts, food, and more to find the questions on the sky lanterns. Answer enough of them correctly, and get the chance to claim a special prize at the LunarFest hub (Ocean Artworks)! It's a fun, interactive, and perfect for curious visitors of all ages.

And there’s more to discover — enjoy craft workshops, music performances, and a variety of engaging activities throughout the festival. From hands-on art experiences to live shows, LunarFest offers something fun for everyone in the family.

Visit us at Granville Island on February 14 - 16 and 21 - 22, click here for more information

THE VANCOUVER NUMBERS

3 and 5

We’re cheating a bit today with two numbers. Three is the number of Vancouver athletes attending the Winter Olympics: Jessica Linton and Skye Clarke in freestyle skiing and Macklin Celebrini in hockey. Five is the number of Vancouver Goldeneyes hockey players, from many different countries, who are playing women’s hockey at the Olympics.

THE AGENDA

🚴 In what will be a surprise to no one who follows cycling in Vancouver, a new SFU study says that between 2022 and 2024 Vancouver’s cycling infrastructure grew only by one per cent, while the top city, Edmonton, grew by 39.6 per cent. More locally, Surrey grew by 5.8 per cent. Read more. [Vancouver Sun]

🧓 Vancouver Coastal Health is about to embark on a new strategy for long-term care. Neighbourhood homes are set to be purchased and turned into licensed long-term care sites, as the organization deals with a massive wait list. Up to 10 residents will be housed in each home. Read more. [CBC]

👮 A 61-year-old man was arrested on Sunday after a man was stabbed in the leg in Kitsilano on Friday.

❌ The Militant Mothers of Raymur pedestrian overpass has shut down due to safety concerns. It helped students get to Admiral Seymour Elementary School across Union Street. Read more. [CBC]

👮 An investigation into a stabbing altercation at Eric Hamber High School during a basketball game has resulted in the arrest of five youths who were also students. Read more. [CTV]

🌉 Reminder for anyone travelling that the Pattullo Bridge is closed for a week, starting last Friday, to connect the stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge.

EVENT GUIDE

Warrior Festival | Multiple theatre venues | Feb. 11-Mar. 26 | Six funny shows about the strength of women | Tickets various prices

The Upstart Climate Book Club | Upstart and Crow | Feb. 11, 6 p.m. | Read and discuss ecological books, with the next book being Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson | Free

Guided Wine Experience at The Landing | The Beach House Restaurant | Feb. 12, 6 p.m. | Tickets $115

Just for Laughs Vancouver | Various locations | Feb. 12-Feb. 22 | The popular comedy show returns with sketch, stand-up and more | Tickets various prices

Pasta Therapy | Skript Shared Commercial Kitchen | Feb. 13, 5:45 p.m. | Immersive culinary workshop to learn pasta making and a paired tasting of the finished dishes | Tickets $97

Lunarfest Vancouver | Various locations around town | Feb. 14-Mar. 9 | Multiple shows, events and activities all around town | Free and paid

Valentine's Day Rollerskate Class | Rolla Skate Club | Feb. 14, 10 a.m. | Celebrate Valentine's Day with a day of skating | Tickets $20

Bach Reimagined | St. Anglican’s Church | Feb. 14, 7 p.m. | An evening of music featuring J.S. Bach | Tickets by donation

Jokes Please: Saturday in Kits | The Russian Community Centre | Feb. 14, 8 p.m. | A handful of comedians performing in a smaller venue, a show that’s been around for 10 years | Tickets $19

Death by Chocolate - A Valentine's Cocktail Mystery | Hart House Restaurant, Burnaby | Feb. 14, 7 p.m. | Immersive cocktail mystery show, with everyone attending while there are seven actors hidden with guests | Tickets $99

Big Bang Festival | Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre | Feb. 15, 12 p.m. | Many fun shows for children 5 and up | Tickets various prices

Intro to Bartending Class | Fine Art Bartending School | Feb. 14 and 21, 4:30 p.m. | Learn how to bartend and make five-star cocktails at home | Tickets $53

Submit your event and it could appear here and reach 30,000+ Vancouver locals.

BUSINESS

Hootsuite partner cuts ties over ICE contract

Witness Change, a non-profit based in Atlanta, Georgia, has cut ties with Hootsuite over the company’s work for the United States Department of Homeland Security, specifically its provision of social media services to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). 

The non-profit “had no idea” about Hootsuite’s ICE contract, Witness Change Director Robin Hammond told Vancity Lookout by email. 

“We have urgently contacted Hootsuite, told them that we can no longer collaborate with them/accept any support, and have demanded that any association with our non-profit be removed from their site,” Hammond said. 

Read the story

NEW VANCOUVER JOBS

Discover your new dream job in Vancouver:

• Director, destination development at Destination Vancouver

• Deputy country manager – Vancouver at Web Summit

• Grant manager at Muslim Food Bank and Community Service

• External comunications leader, associate director and EY

• Executive director at Goodwork Environmental Jobs

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Vancouver Olympic cauldron was briefly lit up on Friday to celebrate the Winter Olympics. [CTV]

• Here’s a lovely story about a popular karaoke stage at a DTES shelter [Vancouver Sun]

• It’s going to take a while to redevelop the W 4th Safeway site. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• If you need a romantic spot for Valentine’s Day, this list has you covered. [Vancouver Sun]

VANCOUVER NEWS QUIZ

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Okay, kudos to this person for capturing this shot of Sen̓áḵw, what a shot!