So, off we go, Memphis and I, for our first visit to the official new leash-free dog park at the filtration plant lands next to Col. Sam Smith Park. We enter from the parking lot of the filtration plant and I don’t see any signs. I don’t see any by-law enforcement officers either so I let Memphis loose. Any self-respecting by-law enforcement officer is in a coffee shop by now. The new dog park is on a north-south axis and when we have a north wind like we had tonight, it howls. The snow was horizontal. It was very, very cold. I don’t see any signs. E. must have set up that picture I posted earlier. There are no signs at all…
I almost tripped over the first sign before I saw it. It was kind of adorable, in a pathetic sort of way. The City had affixed the signs to what appear to be 6′ long steel fence units with cute little legs. I guess it didn’t occur to them that they should try to stake them into the ground in any way. There were two signs, and both were lying on the ground, knocked over by the first serious gusts of wind. I figure they’ll last out there for maybe two days before the local kids creatively move them, or we have a real snow storm and they get buried.
Even though I knew the City hadn’t promised much beyond allowing dogs to play off-leash in that little area of the field (and I’m happy they’ve designated the area), I guess in my heart I thought they’d make a bit of an effort. Maybe the signs are just phase 1 and when spring comes we’ll see something a little more substantial. The good thing is that this is a municipal election year and I’ll be asking every candidate that comes knocking on my door what they plan to do to enhance the area.
27th Street 
I was always under the impression that most leash free dog parks were under the official supervision of some group of volunteers who policed the trash, raised funds for benches and other improvements, and kept the grass cut. Places like Mississauga seem to be quite organized with the dog park thing and ask local users for voluntary “membership” dues in the order of $10-20 annually to help fund enhancements. I have only had my pooch to one formal dog park and I think those folks have done an amazing job with what I believe is almost entirely volunteer effort and funding. They even have a website for the park:
http://www.totoredaca.org/Park.htm
I was surprised at the city simply putting up a sign but I suppose if it keeps the bylaw enforcement guys away it is a start.
Mississauga is volunteer run. I believe they are sponsored by Purina. We’ve volunteered at Jack Darling one day to spread mulch. A local business donated a couple trucks of mulch. Signs were put up asking for help and we showed up with shovel to help with the work. There were maybe 15 or more volunteers and the job got done quickly. The idea was to cover the paths up to the leash free area with mulch so it wouldn’t turn into a muddy mess over winter.