A move by Sechelt council to end the Kinnikinnick sports fields' off-leash designation has been halted for 60 days to see if local dog walkers can rein in individuals who aren't cleaning up after their dogs, and community cyclists and dog owners have agreed that Kinnikinnick Park trails should remain open to all users.
Local dog walkers have opposed council's decision to end the sports fields' off-leash designation. Due to proximity, that conflict has become blurred with a secondary issue - whether to designate some of Kinnikinnick Park's trails as pedestrian-only or bike-only.
At a tense May 12 committee of the whole meeting, the Association for Responsible Pet Owners (ARPO) petitioned to maintain the sports fields' off-leash designation and argued against bikes on the Kinnikinnick Park trails, while the Sunshine Coast Cycling Club and the Kinnikinnick Elementary School Cycling Club petitioned for continuing bike access. Council directed the groups to meet and work out a shared-use plan for the Kinnikinnick Park trails.
Sechelt's manager of sustainability and special services Emanuel Machado said that a three-hour May 14 meeting between the groups involved "some turmoil" but that the groups have hammered out a trail use agreement.
Originally, Machado said, the District was looking at closing some trails to bikes and eventually making the new bike trail, which is being built by Capilano University's mountain bike operations program, bike-only.
According to the groups' agreement, which Machado presented at committee of the whole on Wednesday, May 26: all trails should remain open to all users; signage would be installed that advises that bikers must yield to pedestrians; dog bag dispensers would be installed at each trail entrance; two bulletin boards would be installed for affixing event and park-use notices as well as a notice clarifying trail use; and, under parks staff supervision, a clean-up day will be held to discuss and make improvement to sight lines on the trails.
The off-leash issue on the sports fields, Machado said, was not discussed at the meeting, but he noted that it is, in fact, the driving issue for dog owners. The designation, he said, will be revisited after the 60-day period is up and staff has assessed if the dog excrement problem has been dealt with.
