Hear this story as reported on Tantramar Report:
Tantramar council has some concerns about a plan to create a fenced-in dog park at the site of an out-of-use BMX bike park on Dufferin Street in Sackville.
At a committee of the whole meeting Monday, Active Living director Matt Pryde pitched a plan to hire Eastern Fencing to install a 5-foot-high chain link fence around the former bike park on Dufferin, at a cost of $15,400.
This is the second dog-related item to come before council in recent months. Councillor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell put forward a motion in January asking for a staff report on the idea of allowing dogs off leash in the Dorchester ball park during winter months, but five councillors and the mayor voted down the proposal.
On Monday, Pryde told council that a fenced dog park has been a topic of discussion in Sackville for many years, and was included in the previous Sackville recreation master plan.
In 2020, town of Sackville staff proposed a “large scale design” for Beech Hill Park that would have cost about $80,000. The council of the day voted down the proposal “primarily due to the high costs and the location outside of walking distance from the downtown,” said Pryde. Years later in September 2024, Sackville resident Carla VanBeselaere revived the dog park idea in a presentation to council, and an allotment of $35,000 was included in Tantramar’s capital budget for 2025.
Some councillors, including Barry Hicks and Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, expressed concern over the size of the proposed park, saying it was too small. The 24,000 square foot area proposed is about one and a half times as big as a standard hockey rink.
Deputy Mayor Matt Estabrooks said he would not be able to support a dog park, citing concerns over transmission of diseases between dogs. Estabrooks also mentioned a desire to see the Dufferin location used for youth athletic purposes.
Councillor Bruce Phinney wondered about the possible users of the BMX bike park, and mentioned past plans to build a new and improved skate park in the neighbouring space on Dufferin. Pryde responded that the BMX park has not been maintained in recent years, and is a possible safety issue for the municipality.
Mayor Andrew Black noted that despite the lack of use or outcry over the lack of maintenance in the BMX park, a young student from Salem Elementary had dropped off a letter to his home last year, asking for the park to be mowed.
“I’m excited that they’re considering seriously implementing a dog park in the town,” says Carla VanBeselaere. “I hope they do so in a considered fashion, ensuring that the space is usable for dogs and their owners, as well as other members of town.”
VanBeselaere started a petition on change.org last summer before making her presentation to council, and says that local dog owners “were anxious to see a space where they could allow their dogs to run off the leash, where they could interact with other dogs, and where owners could interact with each other.”
“I think the town needs to recognize that this isn’t a one time investment,” says VanBeselaere, “but it will require constant maintenance as well.” She says that’s why she asked local petition signers if they would be willing to help maintain the space. “And we actually had a fair bit of interest in that kind of undertaking,” says VanBeselaere.
After their discussion Monday, Tantramar council opted to remove the dog park fencing item from the consent agenda for their next meeting on March 11, and have asked Active Lviing director Matt Pryde to come back with further information on some of the concerns raised about the Dufferin Street dog park plan.
