Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation are at it again. Little Norway Park, a well used park/sports field and magnet for people at the Toronto waterfront has been designated an off-leash area. No community consultation, no consideration for the current park users, and an off-leash park exists 400 meters away! Want to learn how to foul a community and pit neighbors against each other? Check out the following link:

http://www.littlenorwaypark.org/

Annex Off Leash Working Group

The group was formed with the task of finding an off leash dog area in the Annex. 2 existing parks and several other 'alternative' sites have been identified for off leash designation by Parks Toronto, the Annex Ratepayers Association and Councillor Adam Vaughan's office.

(Private) Schoolchildren don't count as park users during school ours

At last week's meeting, there were more statements by Sandy Straw regarding park use:

• that children attending private schools and daycares in the neighborhood are part of a "commercial enterprise" and their 'right' to access public parks may be in question. Apparently, schools and daycares require a permit to use public parks during school hours.
  
• at Parks Toronto there are now (with her new policy) no longer health or safety concerns regarding dogs in parks. I said there are health issues regarding dogs pooing and peeing in sandboxes and she insisted that there are none. She said enough dog owners clean up that its not a problem.
  
• she offered that there may be "500 dogs and 500 kids in the area" and we need to 'balance' their share of public parkspace
• she claims, without any explanation, that the playground equipment in Huron St. Park may be against standards and may have to be removed. UPDATE: minutes from the last meeting show that she said that they are indeed to code and can remain
  

City's new off-leash policy no longer considers dog poo and pee a health issue

I was informed by Sandy Straw, Manager of Parks and Bylaw Enforcement for Toronto and East York, that dog poo and pee are not a health concern when considering a park for off-leash status.

This was in response to my question about Huron St. Park suddenly and without community consultation becoming a park that dogs are now allowed to access. For years dogs were prohibited from entering the park which was the only of its kind (no dogs allowed) in the Annex. When inquiring about this new sign in an email where I said it was valuable to many parents because we felt the big sandy play area was free of dog urine and feces, Sandy assured me that many dogs use the park despite its long standing status as a dogs-prohibited park.

UPDATE: apparently, the new city law/bylaw has resulted in the park's status going from dogs prohibited to dogs permitted on leash. The city, and not Parks, is responsible for this change in status.