BRIMBANK City Council has installed new fencing to separate five dog off-leash areas within parks.
Fenced areas are now in place at Collenso Street Electricity Easement, Duke St Reserve and Roussac Reserve in Sunshine North.
They have also been erected in Davitt Dve Reserve in Deer Park and International Gardens Reserve, St Albans.
Brimbank City Council administrators chair, John Watson, said the changes were part of an ongoing program at dog off-leash areas under the Creating Better Parks Policy and Plan.
“We’re committed to improving the amenity of Brimbank’s parks for the whole community, which means taking the community’s park use into consideration when undertaking upgrade and improvement works,” Mr Watson said.
“Approximately 40 per cent of the community use parks to walk their dogs, and the need to create separate areas for owners to exercise their dogs has been raised by the community on a number of occasions.
“By having separate areas away from children’s play equipment and walking paths within our parks, dog owners now have the peace of mind that their pet is in a secure area and can roam free without the stress of encountering potential issues.
“We request that owners be mindful of the new areas that have been created in these locations, and only allow their dog off-leash within the fenced areas.”
In the next 12 months, similar fencing will be installed at Green Gully Reserve in Keilor Downs and Wahgunyah Reserve in St Albans, creating another two off-leash areas.
In addition, signage and tree planting will be used to clearly show the boundaries of dog off-leash areas that fall within a reserve and some existing areas will be relocated away from playgrounds and walking trails.
The council requires dogs to be restrained by a leash in all public open space areas except for designated off-leash areas.
