Dog walkers are pushing back against being banned from this Toronto dog park

A group opposed to the city’s recent decision to ban commercial dog walkers from using a popular midtown Toronto park launched a petition to reverse the ban.

In late June, Toronto city council adopted Councillor Dianne Saxe’s motion to prohibit commercial dog walkers from using Ramsden Park’s off-leash dog area, as it was “creating multiple adverse effects” for neighbourhood residents, including noise, disturbance and parking conflicts.

“These residents have been unsuccessfully requesting relief from these adverse effects for years,” the notice of the motion stated.

The ban came into effect last week when the city posted signs about the new rules, and now commercial dog walkers are fighting back through a petition, calling the ban unjust and unfounded, noting how it negatively impacts the community and local businesses.

“The ban appears to be driven by complaints from a local resident who is building an addition to his home and does not want to hear dogs barking. This decision disproportionately affects commercial dog walkers and their clients, who are also taxpayers and deserve fair access to public spaces,” Rebecca Riddell, who launched the petition, stated.

Riddell, who is the owner of the dog walking company Bark Buddies Inc., said that the city has cited claims that dog walkers are using up excessive parking spaces, creating overcrowded conditions — claims she says are unfounded.

“In reality, only a few dog walkers use the park at a time, and ample parking is available on surrounding streets. Additionally, dog walkers generally use the park during off-peak hours (11 AM to 3 PM), further reducing any potential congestion,” Riddell wrote in the petition.

She added that the city hasn’t provided any viable solutions as yet for the small dog community, and since Ramsden Park is the only facility in midtown offering a designated small dog area, “the loss of this park would force small dogs into mixed-size parks,” where they could face safety risks.

“With ongoing discussions about the need for more dog parks in the city, it is counterproductive to implement bans on existing ones before new facilities are built,” Riddell wrote. “The current situation exacerbates the shortage of suitable dog parks, especially for small dogs.”

This ban, Riddell warned, can threaten the livelihoods of commercial dog walkers who rely on Ramsden Park.

“Removing access to this park will limit their ability to serve their clients effectively, impacting their businesses and the well-being of the dogs in their care,” she said.

In addition to asking that the city reverse the ban, Riddell is proposing that they implement a designated time limit for commercial dog walkers to access the park (for example, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.), a time frame that she says already aligns with current usage patterns and will minimize disturbances to nearby residents.

The ban has led to a debate across social media, with some X users stating that commercial dog walkers are using public dog areas as “profit-generating doggy daycare[s]”:

“There are similar rules e.g. about people not giving paying tennis lessons on public courts: they monopolize the public infrastructure for private gain,” one X user stated.

I think the issue here is commercial dog walkers using a public free run dog area as profit-generating doggy daycare. There are similar rules e.g. about people not giving paying tennis lessons on public courts: they monopolize the public infrastructure for private gain.

— FundamentalLack (@FundamentalLack) August 27, 2024

Others have noted that residents shouldn’t have be forced to put up with the “externalities” of dog-walking businesses:

You are twisting the story – it is not just one landlord. The off-leash area was created but the idea was to limit noise etc. and this policy is consistent with it.
Plus, the dog walkers are running a business, the residents should not be forced to put up with the “externalities”…

— Brian Graff (@Graff2023) August 26, 2024

Another X user pointed out that city council is micromanaging, calling the recent ban a waste of resources: “I am baffled. Are we going to ban noisy children from playgrounds next? Where else would you walk your dog if not the park?”