“The fencing itself, you’ll be surprised how fast it goes up,” Doug Rodwell, acting director of environmental services, said to a small group of dog owners on Monday. “It’s almost like building a Lego-style fence.”
Rodwell guessed it will take a total of two weeks to construct the entire off-leash area, with most of the time being used for installing vehicle gates and pedestrian gates.
Any volunteers participating in the build will need to wear protective gear, including steel-toe boots.
“That’s something I can’t move on. If one of those fence panels pinches someone’s foot, they’re going to get hurt. Safety is the No. 1 thing.”
The municipality will provide gloves, vests and hardhats.
Rodwell estimated that if on each construction day there are between six and eight volunteers, that would be sufficient for putting the fence up in a safe and timely fashion.
The 900 fence panels for the project were donated by Kinder Morgan. They will be installed above ground, so as not to disturb the pipeline and phonelines that are buried there. There is also a power line running over the site. The fences will be constructed seven metres from the lines to ensure safety.
The new off-leash area will be comparable in size to the old Bonhomme Street site, which is now being used for the construction of the new joint high school.
The old park, across from Centennial Park, was closed in August 2012. Since then dog owners have been running their canine friends in a small site—nicknamed the “postage stamp”—at the corner of Centennial Park.
Council voted to construct a new off-leash area on Sleepy Hollow Road in April 2012. It has taken since then to get all of the necessary approvals and to collect the fencing from Kinder Morgan.
There is not yet a set opening date for the park.
