Editor:
I am a senior and I walk the Fraser Foreshore (in Burnaby) every day.
One of the key motivators is to make sure that my sweet, energetic Australian Shepherd gets her exercise, so we have gone out in all kinds of weather to make sure we both get a walk.
She genuinely brightens up many, many people’s day and provides lots of laughter and comments with her earnest carrying of sticks, rolling around, playful and friendly behaviour. She also gives me an opportunity to socialize as people chuckle and make their comments – a bit of much-needed socializing during this bleak, isolating Covid period. Not only is my dog highly socialized, she has excellent recall, doesn’t jump, and I am very careful to watch for people who might have a nervousness around dogs.
And they thank me very much for my consideration and the walk is even more pleasant for all of us. But now it is May and the Burnaby bylaw officers have shown up and instruct us to only walk up and down the stinky, noisy, hazardous waste corridor. That path and the field are the only official off-leash areas and do not present a pleasant walking opportunity.
I was there on May 1, and I watched the ByLaw Officer telling people with perfectly well-behaved off-leash dogs to leash them. There were no problems so why? Apparently ‘some’ people complain about off-leash dogs. One? A couple? 10? Maybe they are: allergic to dogs, scared of dogs, don’t like dogs, are just grumpy - so hundreds of people have to moderate their behaviour for these ‘maybes’.
In the spirit of transparency – how many complaints and what is the nature of the complaints? And the flaw with this data collection is that you fail to take into account the vast number of people who will lose an element of joy in the walks. Since enforcement is complaint driven – I could complain about: Bike riding on the narrow gravel paths – ‘some’ bikers drive so fast and aggressively that they scare the hell out of me. So by the logic which dictates dog walkers, I’m complaining and want all bike riding to cease on the narrow paths. Feeding the birds: many people feed the birds even though it’s apparently against a by[1]law. So I’d like to see more enforcement, if enforcing bylaws is how you want to manage park users. Playing music/smoking dope/ drinking in the picnic areas – the music disturbs my peace, I hate the smell of dope (and cigarettes), drinking goes with rowdiness.
Gross garbage often left behind by ‘some’, and some even set the picnic tables on fire! So, using the criteria you have for making all dogs be on a leash (rather than encouraging a code of behaviour that brings out the sharing and mutual respect of people), I would like to complain and ask that all picnic-ers not be allowed. I know most people using the picnic sites are mellow, but since you use a one-size-fits-all bad-apple management of dogs, then you should be consistent and apply the same criteria to picnics. I hope you recognize the sardonic tone in this note, and even though your by-law officers are cordial, it is discriminatory to apply one set of behaviour criteria to one set of users and not the others. Is there really a problem here that needs solving with the off-leash? There aren’t problems at Barnett Beach Marine Park in the off-leash area, and I’m requesting that you make the Fraser Foreshore river path from the dog field going west a leash-free walking area. The picnic area and river paths going east could be leashed only. Win-win. Shared space.
Mae Burrows, Burnaby
