(Photo 75003121 © Dreamstime Agency/Dreamstime.com)

By Derek Craddock

FOR THE DOGS!

Sask Polytech student uses project to advocate for new dog park in P.A.

Apr 4, 2023 | 2:00 PM

If you’re a dog lover, you’ll certainly love what one student in Prince Albert is doing for one of her major projects.

Allie Combden currently attends Sask Polytech in the city and has been here since moving from Edmonton in August. She said there was one thing she quickly discovered about P.A. that she wanted to change.

“The one thing I quickly noticed about P.A. is that there are no dog parks in town and that the only dog park is outside the city. If you don’t have a car, it’s not accessible,” she said.

She plans to be in the city for another couple of years to finish her studies, so the need for a dog park is a big one for her.

“I moved my dog here from Edmonton, I took him away from all the dog parks there. I don’t think I would have been able to move without him,” she said. “My project is for my park and I want to bring him a dog park similar to the ones in Edmonton.”

Safety

Prince Albert Security Services: Cultivating future industry leaders amidst diverse workforce and training

39m ago

Court proceedings

Guilty plea entered in Prince Albert area manslaughter case

14h ago

The vote is on for Candle Lake

17h ago

For her project, she has created a survey to gauge the community’s interest in having a permanent off-leash park built. As of Tuesday, she has had over 250 responses.

“The people of P.A. want an accessible dog park in town that’s not fenced in completely,” she said.

Posters with a QR code link to the survey have already been put up at the school and throughout social media, including her LinkedIn page. That’s where she got in contact with Tim Yeaman, the Director of Parks for the City of Prince Albert.

She later discovered that the city once had plans for an off-leash park.

“In 2019, 2020 he had taken a proposal for a dog park in the city, and it was approved,” she said. “It was supposed to be completed in 2022 and it’s 2023 and has yet to be started.”

A motion was introduced by Councillor Charlene Miller to have a park built near the Rotary Trail.

In particular, she suggested the area between 7th Ave. W. and 8th Ave. W. along River St. as a prime location for one of the potential parks.

Combden believes there was interest in that initial proposal, but that it lacked involvement with the community. Combden is now hoping that element back to the table.

“If I can bring the community involvement and my survey shows a positive response, then we can get the ball rolling.”

Combden, who works part-time at Canadian Tire, even approached Canadian Tire associate dealer and local philanthropist Malcolm Jenkins about providing fencing for the future dog park. She said, one park is just the start.

“The plan, ultimately, is to have the one permanent off-leash dog park, completely designated with trash cans, signage, trails,” she said. “But to have potentially two or three pop-up off-leash dog parks for the summer would be the complete end goal.”

Combden’s survey ends on April 13^th and she is hoping to get as many responses as she can.

—

derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow