Dogs not welcome at new $3.5m St Kilda Adventure Playground
AFTER spending millions of dollars to makeover a playground in Adelaide’s north, the local council will likely now ban dogs from it.
THE St Kilda Adventure Playground would become a dog-free zone from next year under a council push to stop pooping near play equipment and to prevent attacks on children.
Salisbury Council last week considered banning dogs from entering the playground area at the popular tourist park on St Kilda Rd, under a new bylaw that would come into effect on February 1.
The decision comes after community concerns about potential dog attacks, particularly on small children, and urination and defecation on the grassed areas within the play space.
Council staff are considering installing signs outlining the ban, including information about the $100 penalty that would be imposed on people caught entering the area with a dog.
Mayor Gillian Aldridge said the change was necessary to prevent potential attacks on small children, particularly when they were using the play equipment such as the flying fox and slides.
“I am a dog lover, but I do understand that if you have a small child using the flying fox and there is a dog there, not only will the child be injured, but the dog will too,” Ms Aldridge said.
“So we need a balance — a place for dogs and a place for children, and the place for dogs is not in the actual playground, but rather in other parts of St Kilda.
“They are more than welcome in the other parts and people can absolutely take their dogs to St Kilda for a picnic with the family, if they want, but not in the playground area.”
Ms Aldridge urged dog owners to instead consider taking their pooches to one of the council’s nine dog parks, which were located at Salisbury Park, Paralowie, Salisbury Heights, Pooraka, Mawson Lakes, Parafield Gardens and Ingle Farm.
The new bylaw would replace the existing restrictions that allow dogs to enter the playground area at peak usage times — between 8am and 6.30pm — so long as they are on a leash.
Dogs are allowed to enter the playground without a leash outside of this time frame.
Evanston woman Anne-Marie Ats regularly takes her seven-month-old labrador Menzel to St Kilda Adventure Playground and said the decision was disappointing.
“It’s a family playground and dogs are part of the family,” Ms Ats, 52, said.
“So I think the council are making the wrong move here banning dogs.
“I mean, my dog is not vicious and doesn’t defecate all over the place — he is well trained, like most dogs would be, I guess”.
In August, the council voted to ban dogs at the Canterbury Drive Reserve, and Pooraka Utility and Springbank Waters playgrounds, imposing a $100 fine to people caught disobeying the law.
It came after community concerns relating to reduced safety for disabled children, as well as health concerns over dog poo and urination near play equipment.