The City of Melbourne wants to create more space for dogs to roam off-leash.
Clearly a beneficial move for dogs, but maybe not for bike riders on the move nearby.
The City has designated a number of public spaces for the extra dog playgrounds to "enable dogs to interact and play with other dogs, to explore their surroundings, to exercise, and to reduce boredom and loneliness which can manifest in barking.
"These spaces may also encourage responsible pet ownership, increase the bond between owner and dog and reduce social isolation by creating an environment where dog owners socialise and connect with one another and other members of the community.”
It sounds very idyllic.
But as bike riders know some dogs have a fatal attraction to wheeled vehicles, and when off the leash the resulting encounter can be ugly.
One of the parks nominated by the City is Murchison Square in Carlton on Canning Street, a busy bike route.
However, there are numerous parks all over the country that have been designated as off-leash areas, and very few of them are fenced in the way you usually find in North America and Europe.
Here we rely on the owner being able to control the dog and keep them within the confines of the park or public space, not always a successful endeavour.
Melbourne City is firming up the rules as part of the move for more off-leash areas. Included in the new rules:
"If a dog is off a chain, cord or leash, it must be brought under effective control by means of a chain, cord or leash not exceeding 3 metres in length if the dog is on or within 5 metres of a shared path (designated and identified for use by both pedestrians and bike riders).
"If a dog is off a chain, cord or leash, it must be brought under effective control by means of a chain, cord or leash not exceeding 3 metres in length if the dog is within 20 metres of:
a children’s play equipment area or outdoor fitness equipment area a permanent barbecue or picnic area a sports field or recreation facility during organised sporting activity (including training) the principal location of an organised public event or meeting a river, creek or waterbody.
This seems to indicate that the City considers dog-bike interactions as a much lower risk of the other undesirable possibilities mentioned.
Other councils around Australia more sensibly set 10 metres as the safety zone between off leash dogs and bikes.