Yarralumla Dog Park has been closed since late October. Photos: Ian Bushnell.
The popular Yarralumla Dog Park is expected to partially reopen later this month after a temporary three-month closure to take down dying trees and make the area safe for use.
Transport Canberra and City Services is also taking the opportunity to upgrade the park and improve facilities.
Last October, TCCS was forced to close the park when it was discovered that several pine trees had reached the end of their lives and posed a risk to the public.
TCCS arborists inspected the trees and decided that they needed to be removed for safety reasons.
The closure has been a blow to dog owners who valued the park’s established treed terrain and the shade it offered.
A TCCS spokesperson said the upgrade-works underway at the dog park would be staged to allow sections of the park to open to the public as soon as possible.
Ageing pine trees need to be removed because they were a safety risk.
The works include improved irrigation for greener grass and a shade sail to protect people and pooches from the sun.
The spokesperson said new trees were also being planted so the park could continue to be a shady haven for dogs and their owners.
”Following consultation with Heritage ACT, around 50 radiata pine trees will be replanted in early 2021 in those parts of the dog park that are located in the Weston Park heritage area,” the spokesperson said.
”Additional evergreen and deciduous species will be planted in autumn 2021 in the southern section of the park, outside the heritage area.”
The dog park’s layout, including separate play areas for large, energetic dogs and smaller, elderly and frail dogs, will remain the same.
While the Yarralumla Dog Park is closed, the public can use one of the other dog parks across Canberra:
- Belconnen (Diddams Close, Lake Ginninderra)
- Greenway (Mortimer Lewis Drive, Lake Tuggeranong)
- Yarralumla (Bank Street, Weston Park)
- Forde (Amy Ackman Drive)
- Casey (Springbank Rise)
- O’Connor (Fairfax Street)
- Duffy (Warragamba Avenue).
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It used to be the best doggy park 🐾🐾🐾
Rebecca Humphrys have you seen this? 🤔
I understand several trees were identified as unsafe and required removal but this seems to have given TCCS carte blanche to remove most the of trees, including the silver birch trees planted when the park was first installed. The dog park has been decimated with very few trees remaining. I hope they come good on their ‘upgrade’.
I was shocked to discover this once lush park had become a bare dirt paddock. Had to go to Duffy, which is just as barren. I suppose they will be nice in a decade or so 😢
Catherine Foley been missing your park?
Margreet Philp yes, looking forward to it opening again.
Craig Bennett Luke Bennett James Marr furbabies playdate?
this was definitely a downgrade rather than an upgrade. It seems people will jump at the opportunity to cut down trees and leave spaces so bare. I was horrified at how the park looks when i drove past on the weekend. Very disappointed
Aisha what? Did you even read the article?
The trees were a safety hazard (dead) and they are replanting additional trees.
“TCCS arborists inspected the trees and decided that they needed to be removed for safety reasons.
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The spokesperson said new trees were also being planted so the park could continue to be a shady haven for dogs and their owners.”
Leigh Brady have you ever been there? Do you even own a dog? They cut down a hell of a lot more trees than they needed to, they weren’t dead they were perfectly fine, it’s really good that they’ve planted more trees I’m sure it’ll be really shady haven for dogs again in about 25 years 🙄