This whole thing with bikes and dog walkers and pedestrians is kind of a joke. Why can’t people just show respect for one another?
I’ve been going to the off-leash dog park down by the river for three years now and have seen a lot.
First off, I would like to give credit to some of the cyclists who have the utmost respect for that area of the many, many trails we have in Cochrane. They respect and understand that they are in an off-leash dog park and they slow down and give us plenty of warning that they are behind us if we don’t see them.
Then you get others who don’t really care and feel they have the right away and fly through the park and expects everyone to move.
Well, I have also noted that when I walk my dog where you have to have your dog on a leash we do and every dog owner I see respects the cyclists when they come flying down those areas which is fine because we have our dogs under control and we stay out of their way. Simple as that.
Why can’t they show the same respect?
It’s a very simple fix. Like a school zone you have to go slower because for one reason you don’t know if a child is going to run out in front of you. Well, it should be the same for the dog park put the speed limit down to 5 kilometres which is not for a very long stretch than they can be on their merry way because like a school zone you’ll never know when a dog will make a quick turn for whatever reason and get in the way. They're dogs what do you expect.
And this should be monitored. I went to a dog park in Calgary one time and I must have seen bylaw officers on their bikes three times out here in Cochrane I think I seen one guy walk through once. If we just respect where we are both dog walkers' cyclists or what have you than we all can get along. It’s really that simple.
Regards
Lloyd Orr
