By Najma Sambul
The City of Melbourne’s dog population may be surging, but finding a place for pooches to run free has proven problematic in the inner-city suburb of Carlton.
The council last year designated seven new off-leash areas across the municipality, but agreed to look for an alternative location in Carlton after residents raised concerns about a proposed dog park in Murchison Square.
Emily and her Staffy, Giorgi, at the Canning and Neill Street Reserve.Credit: Jason South
On Tuesday night, a council committee voted to allow dogs to be off-leash at Canning and Neill Street Reserve, a small park in Carlton, from 6pm to 8am from November 1 to March 31, and 5pm to 9am from April 1 to October 31.
Carlton resident Emily, who walks her Staffy, Giorgi, in Canning and Neill Street Reserve most days, was delighted he would be able to run and play unrestrained.
“Living in the inner city it’s so important – since so many people live in apartments without backyards – to get your dog out to stretch their legs and meet other dogs,” she said.
But resident Clara Tuite told the meeting the council ignored the significant dangers posed by unleashed dogs, particularly given the park was so close to a busy bike path.
She also said unleashed dogs would threaten the park’s wildlife, with birds at their most active foraging for insects in the mornings and evenings when dogs would be allowed to roam free.
“In this park people walk, meet friends, exercise, have picnics, hold neighbourhood street parties, practise Tai Chi, practise their guitars and much more. All of this will be threatened if made over to a dog park,” Tuite said.
“We’re frankly at a loss to understand why our reserve has been targeted for the dog park when it is so manifestly unsuitable for this.”
The City of Melbourne’s dog population has increased by almost 40 per cent since the start of the pandemic, jumping from 3732 in February 2020 to 5148 in May 2023.
Councillor Rohan Leppert said there would always be conflict and it was difficult to balance the demands on local spaces.
“Dog off-leash parks are classically one of the most controversial things the municipality has to deal with, car parks being another one,” Leppert said.
However, he said he was confident the views of the local community had been considered and stressed that the off-leash periods at Canning and Neill Street Reserve were restricted to certain times. “It is not a free for all,” he said.
Leon Wiegard is relieved the off-leash area will not be in Murchison Square.Credit: Eddie Jim
Dog owner Leon Wiegard last year raised concerns about the impact of a dog park at Murchison Square. He said he was delighted the council had decided against an off-leash area there.
“Some of those dogs are huge and they have a big gait. It’s not safe to have them running around at small parks. It’s not that far to go to dog parks that are already established, and they are quite huge like Atherton Gardens and Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy.”
Melbourne City Council last year designated seven other new off-leash areas for dogs at Eades Park in West Melbourne; Kingsway and Moray Street Reserve in Southbank; Point Park in Docklands; Riverside Park in Kensington; Ron Barassi Senior Park in Docklands; Royal Park’s Manningham Reserve in Parkville; and Wellington Park in East Melbourne.
Some parks have designated off-leash areas for dogs at all times, while others allow dogs to roam free at specific times of the day.
The decision followed a review of dogs in open spaces in 2019 that identified gaps in off-leash provisions across the city.
There are now 22 dog parks in the City of Melbourne.
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