The Letter Request has been sent to the City! Read Below

Dear Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, and Ward 16 Council staff,

My name is Karen Hernandez, and I have been a resident of the Graydon Hall community for over seven years. I have run into many dog owners in our community, who similarly wish that there was a nearby off-leash dog park facility. We are writing to you today to ask if you can look into converting an empty grass area off of Graydon Hall (Shown with green box in the picture below) into an Off-leash dog park facility. Graydon Hall Park is only currently being used to either cut through the neighbourhood from Graydon hall towards Fenelon drive, with a few occasional visitors who sit for a picnic.

Figure 1: Proposed location of DOLA

This park makes a great location for an off-leash dog park, since it is away from sensitive natural elements areas such as ravines, and is not in proximity to the following:

• playgrounds, splash pads and wading pools, horticultural display areas or ornamental gardens
• skateboard bowls, tennis courts and other sports pads
• sports fields and stadiums
• artificial or natural ice rinks, toboggan hills
• animal display areas
• designated heritage, memorial, commemorative and ceremonial areas
• burial grounds
• areas posted prohibiting dogs, etc.

All this park would need is fencing, since there is already a recycling and trash bin. If possible, it would be great to make two pens, one for small dogs, and one for bigger doges (green outline on map). We wouldn’t want to take the whole park; it will be good as long as it’s a decent
size for dogs and it still allows space for the community to use green space on beautiful sunny days.

With the weather warming up, and the increased amount of new adopted dogs during the pandemic in our community, we now have very limited places to take our dogs. It would be great to have a space where they can exercise and play safely and securely. During a daily walk around
the neighbourhood, we see an average of 10-20 dog owners walking their dogs.

Figure 2: Closest Off-leash dog facilities in the area

Other parks with off-leash dog parks in the vicinity are L’Amoreaux Off-Leash Dog Park, Willowdale Off-leash Dog Park or Sunnybrook Dog Park (shown above), which aren't walking distance, and not everyone drives or feels safe taking public transit during these times. Another area for walking would be Betty Sutherland Trail and Brookbanks Park but the paths can be too busy and not fun for dogs.

Having a park like this in the community would be hugely beneficial to everyone in this neighborhood, as we have seen dog owners from other residential towers such as York Heights, Henry farm, Parkway Forest, and Parkwoods cross over to Graydon Hall park.

If both Don Valley North Ward Councilor Shelly Carroll and Don Valley East Councilor Danzil Minnan-Wong would be able to collaborate on this initiative, it would be beneficial to both communities. I know councilor Carroll has posted a need for off-leash dog parks in a blog post
back in 2019 (see https://mailchi.mp/toronto/dog-off-leash-areas?fbclid=IwAR2JZtw6SAYQ9-XGYg2vlgytx6jVcljWfY7vImtsQhlzt2O0hDZD-IbLt4M ) and Councilor Danzil is an active dog
owner in his community.

This statement is relevant from the Pet Friendly Design Guidelines for High Density Communities, which states:

It is estimated that for each new high-rise residential development in the City of Toronto, there are 4-8 pets which occupy each floor of these buildings. As the pet population in our urban environments increases, it becomes increasingly important to understand the needs of pets and their owners and design spaces in new developments and their surrounding areas which can support this growing trend. (City of Toronto, 2018)

Our community is continuously growing in density and with that the number of dogs increases; especially during the pandemic, residents have been adopting more dogs, sometimes even two at a time.

The guidelines also state (Chen et al. 38) that pet friendly design is considering the presence, activities and needs of pets with the goal of creating more livable spaces and supporting the wellbeing of all users. Our community especially needs this statement employed in our neighborhood, since currently there are no specific off-leash dog areas where we can let our dogs run free; especially since other residents may be afraid of dogs coming too close to them, or others may not know their own boundaries and walk up to a dog that might not make them feel safe. As pet owners, we want what’s best for our dogs, and our community, which is to be able to give our dogs safe off-leash time, keeping other residents safe at the same time.

The Guidelines also state (Chen et al. 27) that a dog park should accommodate residents within 5-15 minute walking radius (~400-1200 meters) from it; this makes Graydon Hall Park a great location, since it is walking distance for dog owners from many residential towers in the
neighborhood. This is especially important, as it is stated before, there are no off-leash dog parks within walking distance of our buildings. The size of this park is big enough to accommodate at least 3 pens (small, medium, large dogs).

Figure 3 Source: 2016 Ward profiles

Moreover, as it is evident in the Occupied Private Dwelling by Structure Type chart, more than half of residents in the neighborhood live in tall residential buildings, many of which do not have ample greenspace available. Therefore, many dog owner residents of this neighborhood do
not have access to private open spaces such as backyards, and rely on public spaces for green space. As a result, parks and open spaces in these neighbourhoods are heavily used, by many residents looking for places to spend time in a natural setting, including those with pets. This puts a strain on existing parks and open spaces, which do not typically have the capacity for high intensity dog use. With barely any off-leash dog parks close-by, empty park spaces, streets, Betty Sutherland, Brookbanks trails and other public areas become important parts of a pet’s day-to-day environment.

Although these Guidelines are set in place to help support sufficient pet amenities in new developments, we believe that pet amenities should still be provided to support pet populations that exist in older residential towers.

We would appreciate it if you studied our neighborhood’s density, and our limited access to dog parks in the vicinity, and assist us in bringing better amenities to our growing community of pet owners. We have started taking down names and contact information of pet owners in the
neighborhood who are interested in a new off-leash dog park in Graydon Hall Park, and so far, we have collected a database of about 100 people in just a few days (as of April 14, 2021). As the pandemic has resulted in parks to attract more people, an off-leash dog park is more
relevant and necessary than ever, in order to keep Don Valley East residents and pets safe and healthy.

Thank you for your time,

Sincerely,

Karen Hernandez, Don Valley East resident

References
Chen, Ran, et al. “Pet Friendly Design Guidelines and Best Practices for New Multi-Unit Buildings December 2019.”
City of Toronto, City of Toronto, Dec. 2019, www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/94d3-CityPlanning-Pet-Friendly-Guidelines.pdf
City of Toronto. “Don Valley East - City of Toronto Ward Profiles.” City of Toronto Ward Profiles, City of Toronto,
2018, www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/8f8b-City_Planning_2016_Census_Profile_2018_25Wards_Ward16.pdf.
City of Toronto. “Overview: Pet Friendly Design Guidelines for High Density Communities.” City of Toronto, 3 May
2018, www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/planning-studies-initiatives/pet-friendly-design-guidelines-for-high-density-communities/overview-pet-friendly-design-guidelines-for-high-density-communities