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Banff sniffs out dog park plan

Banff is one step closer to formalizing an off-leash dog park. Town staff have identified two possible locations within the townsite for a dog park and plans to ask council for money as part of 2012 capital budget deliberations to help build one.

Banff is one step closer to formalizing an off-leash dog park.

Town staff have identified two possible locations within the townsite for a dog park and plans to ask council for money as part of 2012 capital budget deliberations to help build one.

The two locations under consideration include an area within the Whiskey Creek/Marmot Crescent neighbourhood and another in the industrial compound near Hawk Avenue.

“We feel we have two viable locations,” said Mary Brewster, the Town of Banff’s community services manager. “There’s nothing that says we only need to have one park; eventually there could be two.”

The current zoning for Whiskey Creek/Marmot Crescent area is public parkland (PP), while the Hawk Avenue site is in the commercial services (CS) district. A public park is a permitted use in both zones under the Land Use Bylaw.

Three other areas were considered, but have been ruled out at this point – an area east of the Fenlands Rec Centre, an area between Cascade Gardens and Middle Springs residential neighbourhoods and a green space on Squirrel Street.

The land on Squirrel Street is mostly held by Canadian Pacific Railway, and the Town of Banff-owned land in that same area was deemed too small for a dog park.

The Fenlands site has a sensitive creek running through it, while the area above Cascade Gardens is zoned environmental protection (PE). Both sites would require an environmental assessment.

Town officials say Parks Canada has indicated it would consider Hawk Street and Whiskey Creek/Marmot Crescent areas as sites for an off-leash dog park.

“If we have wildlife corridors or water courses, those are the red flags and are big issues,” said Brewster. “We want to make sure the location is good for owners, pets and wildlife.”

The next step is public consultation and the Town of Banff plans to run a survey on its website for about three weeks starting in early November to gauge support for a dog park and the proposed locations.

“After input from the public is collated it will be presented to council with the two options for a council decision,” said Diana Waltmann, the Town of Banff’s communications manager.

As for the costs of building a dog park, Waltmann said the opportunity for partnership and volunteerism – similar to the greenhouse project – will affect the budget, as will the final location.

The final costs are up in the air.

“The costs will be for fencing, bag dispenser and site cleanup. Ongoing costs will be for biodegradable (poop) pickup bags and garbage removal,” said Waltmann.

“We’ll repurpose equipment as much as we can – benches, bear proof bins.”

Earlier this year a petition was launched and a Facebook group started in support of an off-leash dog park for Banff. There were 510 dog licenses issued in 2011.

Councillor Grant Canning, who campaigned for an off-leash dog park during last year’s municipal election, said he is pleased work on the issue is moving along.

“It’s tremendous to see this thing move forward. In the case of Banff it’s always been an issue of lack of land, not lack of desire,” he said.

“I think administration has done a very good job of going through the process. These things do take time, especially when dealing with environmental issues and we all recognize that.”


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