Edmonton closes fenced off-leash dog parks amid pandemic

The City of Edmonton is closing fenced off-leash dog parks, council's emergency advisory committee heard Thursday.

As of Saturday morning, Lauderdale, Alex Decoteau, Manning Village andPaisleywill be closed to the public.

Thecity's 38other off-leash areas will be switched to on-leash.

Keeping dogs on-leash reduces the potential for owners to have to intervene with other people if their dog runs off, the city says.

Councillors said they expect complaints from residents about the decision.

During the meeting,Coun. Scott McKeen asked if there was a wayto be able to keep the Alex Decoteau park open, such as having a volunteer monitor behaviour.

"[It's] a very popular amenity in a very high-density area," McKeen said. "That is an incredibly important amenity for people living in the downtown."

But David Aitken, the chair of the city's COVID-19 task team, said the closureis a necessary measure to prevent overcrowding.

"We think as we move deeper into the pandemic, that this is the first step of many."

Aitken said the city will continue to monitor the crowds in the park.

"We certainly understand the frustration that comes with shutting down those facilities that are well-used but we think it errs on the side of caution and safety and it's something right now that we think is needed."

All off-leash parks in cities like Toronto and Montreal are closed, he noted.

In further measures announced Thursday, the city islooking at closing lanes of Saskatchewan Drive between 105th and 109th Streets and Victoria Promenade to vehicles.

The city is also considering limiting traffic on River Valley Road butit's not clear whenlanes will be closed.

The new measures comeas theemergency advisory committee agreed to renew the city'sstate of local emergency to deal with COVID-19.

It's the second time council has extendedthe order after it was initially declaredon Mar. 20.

By law, the state of local emergency, whichgives the city extraordinary authority to impose restrictions on public activity,needs to be renewed every seven days.

The city has imposed several restrictions on the Edmonton public in the past two weeks, including strict rules for taxis and ride-sharing services on Wednesday.

Edmonton transit service announced Thursday it is adding more security on buses and LRT stations after receiving more reports of aggressive behaviour and homeless people using public transit as a shelter.

• Edmonton playgrounds to close immediately in response to coronavirus pandemic
• Edmonton mayor declares state of local emergency

@natashariebe