People, Dogs and Parks Strategic Plan

Fall 2023 – Public engagement

The engagement report provides a summary of what we heard from the online survey, pop-up events, and intercept survey held in November and December 2023.

Thank you to all who shared their input by taking our online survey. The key themes heard during engagement will help support the development of the draft strategic plan.

The background report describes what we know about dogs in the District and its parks. 

Read our engagement summary report

Phase 1: We will engage the community to learn more about key issues, opportunities and ideas for planning spaces for people and dogs in District parks.

Phase 2: We will carry out analysis, research, and explore best practices to support the development of the plan.

Phase 3: We will consider the key themes heard through the initial engagement, along with background research and best practices, to develop the draft strategic plan. We will share the draft plan for review and feedback.

Phase 4: The plan will be refined and presented to Council for consideration.

The District’s parks are highly valued by the community for providing a wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities, and this plan will provide a framework to enhance the park experience for all users.

Why we are developing this plan:

• The Parks and Open Space Strategic Plan (2012) recommends developing a dog program for dog use in parks
• The District’s population is growing and there is an increasing number of people and dogs sharing District parks
• We have heard from community members over time about the desire for opportunities to recreate with their dogs in parks, and challenges about dogs in our parks

Learn more about dog in the District in the background report.