Darwin dogs and their owners have a new purpose-built community facility for family pets to exercise and play.
The Lakeside Drive dog park opened for use on Monday providing a fenced open space for pet owners to upskill their dogs in off-leash behaviour, socialisation and control.
Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis said the new dedicated space to exercise dogs is another step towards Council's goal of ensuring pets and their owners and neighbours live together in safety and harmony in the Darwin community.
“There are over 8000 dogs registered in Darwin and Lakeside Drive Dog Park now provides a safe fenced park for them to exercise, play and learn,” Mr Vatskalis said.
“Exercising and socialising dogs is one of the best proven ways to keep dogs happy and reduce nuisance behaviours such as barking and boredom behaviours.”
The Lakeside Drive Dog Park features separate small and large dog exercise areas, water troughs, dog disposal bags, trees and interpretative signage on dog behaviour and usage.
The dog park is the final of 14 community projects valued at $2M and jointly funded by City of Darwin and the Northern Territory Government that have been completed this year.
The 14 joint projects include new toilet facilities in Jingili, Rapid Creek and Cullen Bay, playground and park upgrades in Tiwi, Anula, Leanyer and Wanguri and basketball facilities in Karama, Malak and Lyons.
“The partnership between City of Darwin Elected Members and Northern Territory Members of Parliament has identified projects that deliver the best outcomes for our community.”
“The community have responded well to the new facilities and I expect the new dog park to be will utilised, as pet ownership in Darwin is very high.”
Quotes from Member for Casuarina, Lauren Moss:
“We are focused on making our local communities even more liveable, co-investing with City of Darwin in 14 projects identified as priorities by community members.
“Dog parks are a great place for owners to socialise and exercise their dogs, with thousands living in close proximity to the new facility on Lakeside Drive.
“The dog park adds to the liveability of the area and is a real win for pet owners who asked for more options for letting their dogs run around off the leash in the northern suburbs.”
City of Darwin scoped and managed all projects in-house with support from local contractors.