Media response - Willunga dog park petition
Published on 14 March 2023
Response to the Fleurieu Sun.
- What feedback has the council received regarding the push for an off-leash dog park at Willunga?
- Why do residents want an off-leash dog park at Willunga?
- What options do residents currently have if they want to walk their dog without a leash?
- What sites are being proposed as potential areas to be turned into an off-leash dog park.
- Where-to next for the petition?
Comments attributed to Mayor Moira Were
Council received a petition, containing 196 signatures, asking the City of Onkaparinga to consider an off-leash dog park in Willunga in February 2023, and this followed similar requests from the head petitioner in previous years.
Onkaparinga residents currently have three off-leash fully-fenced dog parks to exercise their dogs (in Huntfield Heights, Flagstaff Hill and Aldinga), with a fourth to be built in Woodcroft in 2023–24 through a $500,000 state government election commitment.
The current three dog park locations were chosen based on research about which suburbs have the highest dog ownership, and they align with the service level defined by our Open Space Strategic Management Plan (OSSMP) 2018–23.
These dog parks are in addition to approximately 450 reserves and almost 10 kilometres of foreshore available for the off-leash exercise of dogs—provided they’re under effective control—across Onkaparinga.
Our OSSMP, which will consider off-leash dog parks within the City of Onkaparinga, is due for review this year, and the community will be invited to provide feedback as part of this process.
ENDS