Acton's Prospect Park dog park is set to close for a rebuild from mid-October

What is happening

The Town of Halton Hills expects construction on the redesigned leash-free dog area at Prospect Park, 30 Park Avenue in Acton, to begin in mid-October, according to its Let's Talk Halton Hills project page. The leash-free area will be closed while the work is under way. The Town says it will schedule the work to keep the closure as short as possible, but it has not published an end date.

Before construction, staff are finishing the construction drawings, buying materials and scheduling the work. The project page still invites comments on the final design.

What the new design includes

The design came out of a public survey that drew 85 responses. Respondents favoured the second of two concepts but wanted parts of both. Their clearest priorities were a water fountain, better drainage and ground surface, more shade trees, a separate fenced area for small dogs, better lighting, large open grass areas, a longer looping path and seating at the edges rather than in play areas.

Open grass and a longer path were the two features that most influenced respondents' choice between the concepts, each cited by 42 people. The Town says the final design tries to balance the two, and that it was settled after meeting with the Leash Free Halton Hills volunteer committee. Respondents also asked for better enforcement of leash-free rules and more regular grass cutting and fence repairs.

Where to go meanwhile

The Town suggests using its other two leash-free areas during construction. Both are in Georgetown. Its parks are run with Leash Free Halton Hills, a volunteer group.