Council moves forward with Mainland Common dog park
Posted Oct 22, 2014 07:09:10 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Mainland Common will likely be the site of Halifax’s new off-leash dog park.
City council voted to go ahead with public consultations on using the site to replace the controversial Africville dog park.
Dog trainer and dog daycare owner Tristan Flynn said the Clayton Park site isn’t perfect, but it certainly works.
“I think for a compromise this is a pretty good location, it’s got some exciting benefits that maybe the other park won’t have,” said Flynn.
Halifax West-Armdale councillor Linda Mosher said from her understanding, this site will work, but the city might have to put some money into it
“What I took away from the meeting is that they wanted benches, water sources, garbage cans, fenced-in and in a safe area,” explained Mosher.
Halifax councillor Jennifer Watts said she supports the Mainland Common site for a dog park, but she thinks there’s interest to warrant more than just the one new dog park.
“This may not be the answer to everyone’s needs, but it hopefully may not be the only one that we have in the municipality,” said Watts.
During public consultations in July, it was clear that the small site near the Africville site wasn’t going to work, but Preston-Chezzetcook-Eastern Shore councillor David Hendsbee doesn’t think it should be ruled out.
“Though we’re moving out of Africville, that particular site to the east of the parking lot, in my opinion, is still a viable option for discussion,” said Hendsbee.
Dog owner Jeff Lanthier disagreed.
“I don’t think that site ever made sense for a variety of reasons,” said Lanthier, citing the small size and proximity to the current controversial location.
Council voted unanimously for more public input on the Mainland Common site, which will take place before the next debate in November.
The deadline for vacating the Africville site is in December.
