Very good doggos around inner-city Melbourne could soon be treated to more parkland for their daily walkies and zoomies under a City of Melbourne proposal to double the number of off leash areas.
At tonight's Future Melbourne Committee meeting, councillors will consider designating eight new off leash areas for dogs in portions of:
- Eades Park, West Melbourne
- Kingsway & Moray Street Reserve, Southbank
- Murchison Square, Carlton
- Point Park, Docklands
- Riverside Park, Kensington
- Ron Barassi Senior Park, Docklands
- Royal Park (Manningham Reserve), Parkville
- Wellington Park, East Melbourne
Melbourne has seen a booming population of household hounds since the start of the pandemic, with registrations increasing more than 20 per cent in the past two years - from 3948 in 2020 to 4750 in 2022. Top dogs across the municipality include Cavoodles, Labradors and Jack Russell Terrier crosses.
If endorsed, the proposal would see 3.5 hectares added to the existing 16 hectares of off leash parkland across the municipality, equating to nearly 10 MCGs worth of space for inner-city pooches to sniff, fetch and play with their four-legged friends across 16 parks.
The recommendation follows a review of dogs in open spaces in 2019, which identified gaps in off leash provisions across the municipality. Throughout two phases of community engagement, Council has received overwhelming support for the new dog parks from the local community.
A timed access model is proposed for selected parks including Murchison Square, Point Park, Riverside Park and Wellington Park. Limited off leash hours between 8pm and 6am daily would be observed to ensure parks could be shared and enjoyed safely for all members of the local community.
