Public Open Space Planning

Dog owners are a significant group of park users whose needs have to be taken into account by local councils as part of open space planning. When deciding whether dogs can be on or off-leash in particular areas, councils often have to consult with the community on issues such as aggression and nuisance problems, and to avoid conflict with other park users (e.g. to allow for playgrounds, sporting facilities, walking and cycling paths).

The issue of dog poo also comes under the topic of open space planning. Jackson (2000) outlines a number of environmental design factors that can make it easier for dog owners to clean up after their dogs, and to minimise the problems caused by unremoved dog poo in parks:

• If council decides to install bins in parks, their design and siting is very important (see Infrastructure section).
• The presence of bins and signage (e.g. 'please pick up after your dog') provides a constant reminder about the responsibilities of owners.
• The further dog owners are from bins, the less likely they will be to use them. Therefore, bins should be placed at entry points to parks, where dogs are most likely to defecate (see Research section) and in areas of environmental sensitivity or high human activity (e.g. playgrounds).
• Councils should be aware that dog poo may be more of a problem in off-leash than on-leash areas, as owners may not see their dog defecate when off the leash (or may not be willing or able to walk over to find the dog poo and remove it).
• In parks with multiple use zones, environmentally sensitive areas, playgrounds, sporting or picnic facilities can be protected from fouling by dog poo by the presence of physical barriers such as fencing.
• Littering is significantly more likely to occur in a littered setting than in a clean one. Therefore, councils may find regular clean ups of dog poo in public open spaces to be of benefit.

Virginia Jackson, Urban Policy Analyst and Town Planner, has written and presented extensively on the subject of integrating the needs of dogs into open space planning. See Resources Section for full details.