East-end Hamilton dog park closed for soil testing

The Birch Avenue leash-free dog park in Hamilton is closed while testing takes place to determine the safety of the soil for dogs.

Hamilton city council released a statement Friday about the results of a test on the park’s soil completed in January. The test revealed that the soil at the park north of Barton Street East does not meet requirements set by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

The test was conducted after a complaint was received from a resident in the area who was concerned with the soil’s impact on the health of the dogs who use it. The resident was said to believe the soil condition was negatively affecting the health of dogs, pointing to illness and death.

A review of the results was performed to determine the soil’s risk to humans. This established that the park was of no health risk to people. However, it could not conclude the impacts the soil has on a dog’s health.

Not everyone who goes to the park is happy with the closure.

Andrew Dymkowski says he and his dogs have been going to the Birch Avenue leash-free dog park for 15 years. But on Saturday morning he was confronted by a lock and closure sign.

“I was very mad. I said, ‘what is this?’ Hamilton, Canada, a democratic country, why do you have a park closed,” said Dymkowski.

And he’s not the only one who is disappointed. William Redpath is another local resident who frequents the park and is unhappy with the closure.

“I was shocked. You know, I didn’t understand what was going on. You know, there was no warning or no information,” said Redpath.

CHCH News reached out to the city to ask what the specific substances are, but an official says they cannot confirm that yet, but are believed to be connected to construction debris in the ground from before the park was opened.

“Recently, though, there have been some concerns raised by community members after instances of dogs getting sick … and they did find that there were some exceedances to parkland standards,” said Hamilton Director of Environmental Services Cynthia Graham.

Dog sitter Cheryl Macfarlane says she visits the park often – adding that she never heard of any issues.

“I’ve never heard of anyone’s dog getting sick here before. If it’s not safe here, I don’t want to bring my dogs, but I also don’t want this park to shut down if it’s safe. It doesn’t make sense,” said Macfarlane.

The city says based on their findings, there are no human health risks. However, dog owners who frequent the area say although it may not affect them physically, there is social impact.

“Well, for me, like I have trouble getting around, mobility issues. I have depression issues. So for me, just getting out in the mornings to see my friends and have the dog park, it’s nice, you know,” said Redpath.

“I’m a retired person and I have a heart problem … but if I come here, it’s better for dog and socialize with other people,” said Dymkowski.

The site where the park sits was formerly used for the disposal of brick, rubble and concrete.

It is not clear when the park is expected to reopen, or if it will. The City of Hamilton encourages residents to visit other nearby parks such as the Ward 2 Dog Park on Wellington Street North and the Rail Trail Dog Park on Ferguson Avenue South.

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