Hi all, 

This petition is to be put to Banyule City Councillors to keep Rosanna Parklands as an off-lead dog park.

Our aim is to showcase how well-loved Rosanna Parklands is in the shire for off-lead exercise and how vital it is for dog exercise and socialisation. Our petition asks for the Council to preserve Rosanna Parklands for off-lead dog use throughout the entire site, and consider adding other improvements such as perimeter fencing around playgrounds and additional signage as a better option for enhancing the site.

On the 28th of February the Banyule Council passed a motion to undertake a report into Rosanna Parklands after they received a petition asking for the council to consider creating Rosanna Parklands into a two zoned park - where it will have an off-lead area and on-lead area for dog owners. Like many others in the community we have walked our dog safely off-lead at Rosanna for years, and friends in our walking group have walked there with their dogs for close to 10 years with absolutely no problem. 

The Banyule and wider community love this park because it is one of a kind. This is showcased in the large number of signatures we have garnered in support of this petition in such a short period of time.

Rosanna Parklands is the main venue people in the community go to, to exercise alongside their dogs, whether that’s running, walking for cycling, and it is important that large spacious sites are provided for off-lead exercise within Banyule because dog owners do not have any other materially similar parks (size, features and characteristics) for off-lead exercise within the entire shire. The Rosanna Parklands provides a safe 3km loop away from traffic and shops which is greatly needed in the community.

Therefore, we are calling on Banyule Council to preserve Rosanna Parklands as a space where dog owners can utilise the whole park for off-lead dog exercise, noting this has been the parks modis operandi for the last 20 years.

In considering this, it is important for Banyule Council to acknowledge the below facts regarding community support, benefits of off-lead dog exercise and the reasons why Rosanna Parklands was identified in a council study as being the most ideal site for off-lead dog exercise. And, for these elements to be considered within the report that will be provided to council. 

1. Strong community support for Rosanna Parklands to be retained in its current state, as a site for off-lead dog exercise – as at 28th Feb we are close to 2000 signatures.
2. Importance of off-lead exercise for dogs and co-benefits for residents. Providing a large and spacious area for off-lead exercise is vital to dog welfare, socialization and behaviour. Dogs that are provided with adequate stimulation and exercise are less likely to demonstrate other nuisance behaviours such as boredom barking and over-excitement. Dog welfare is an important aspect that Banyule Council needs to consider and the large space provides an opportunity for dogs to engage and play with one another, off-lead, in a safe environment away from shops and traffic.
   
   In addition, the Parklands provides significant co-benefits to the community, particularly regarding mental and physical health. Most owners that utilize the Parklands to exercise alongside their dogs – walking, jogging and cycling – which is something that is not achieved when dogs are confined to smaller off-lead area that is fenced in. Everyday residents use the general paths to move around the 3km loop of tracks.
3. Lack of other viable, like-for-like, alternative spaces to Rosanna Parklands for dog owners. We agree that there should be equitable and inclusive access in Banyule. However, it is important for the councilors to acknowledge that it needs to be addressed holistically throughout the shire, and that spread throughout the community there are various assets designed to meet the different needs and wants of the community (for example the seniors exercise park in Ivanhoe), and that by providing assets for particular residents needs is not exclusionary.
   
   This is particularly true for Rosanna Parklands. On the Banyule Councils website there are over 100 parks that can be accessed by the community, all with different features. One characteristic that is common amongst all of these assets - except for Rosanna Parklands - is they have designated on-lead sections. This means that only Rosanna Parklands (out of over 100 parks!) provides the community a large spacious area for off-lead exercise and other sites, such as football ovals, are prioritized to kids and adult sport and dog owners can only use these when they are not being used by people.
4. The physical characteristics of the Parklands that identified it as the most appropriate site for off-lead exercise.
   When Rosanna Parklands was established, Banyule hired an independent consultant that undertook analysis of the shire because it lacked facilities for dog owners. That consultant concluded that Rosanna Parklands would be the most ideal site for off-lead exercise because it was the right size and shape and because the site was not a natural park as it was converted from a golf course. This is an incredibly salient point because again it demonstrates how few sites would meet the criteria for providing the community to a large off-lead area as all other parks are ‘natural parks’.
   
   This was emphasized in the 2004 Master Plan for Rosanna Parklands which ensured that the paths in Rosanna Parklands were considered ‘general purpose’ paths rather than ‘shared paths’ specifically so that the parklands retained their purpose to provide a site for off-lead dog exercise whether it was via walking, jogging or cycling.
5. Restricting off-lead exercise is a disproportionate response. Finally it is important to acknowledge that the majority of dog owners that use Rosanna Parklands have effective control of their dogs and it would be disproportionate to restrict off-lead use based on a very small amount of non-compliance. Like many places in Melbourne, green spaces like Rosanna Parklands were in high demand during the peak COVID-19 lockdowns and we did see tension between families, bike riders, runners, dog owners, children looking for BMX facilities etc however, since the restrictions have lifted we have noticed the Parklands have reverted back to the original numbers and groups of people using the site - predominately dog owners. 

In addition, we ask Council to consider the improving the Rosanna Parklands by exploring other options that do not restrict off-lead exercise such a perimeter fence around the children's playground and improved signage throughout the park around expectations for off-lead dog use. We believe these improvements will ameliorate the concerns raised at the council meeting on the 28th February, and we ask the council to reject any changes that explore prohibiting or restricting off-lead dog exercise in Rosanna Parklands ad along the general purpose paths.

In addition to this petition, we will provide the Council with the following:

• Letter from professional dog trainer
• Letter from a resident who was involved in the study that identified Rosanna as the most ideal site for off-lead exercise
• Document summarising the key factors that need to be considered.

Please sign this petition if you would like Rosanna Parklands to stay the way it is, fully available to walking your dog off-lead with no zoned areas!