Waipā dog exercise areas and new rules come into effect

New rules and dog exercise areas for Waipā come into effect from Friday, December 1.

New rules and dog exercise areas for Waipā come into effect from Friday, December 1.

From tomorrow, the community will have access to six new off-leash dog exercise areas with a further two to open in mid-December and another in February 2024.

Community services manager Brad Ward said staff had been working hard to get the new dog exercise areas ready and were excited to see the community and their dogs have some new spaces to explore.

There would be new mixed timings for dogs that are off-leash and on-leash at three key sites, including Lake Te Koo Utu, the Waipuke foreshore area and the northern area of Te Awamutu War Memorial Park. Dogs will be allowed off-leash between 6pm to 10am during daylight saving and between 3pm and 10am in winter.

Outside of these times, dogs will need to be leashed in these areas.

“After hearing community feedback, the mixed timings allow for owners and dogs to still enjoy the space off-leash at the given times while also allowing for these spaces to be versatile [places] where families, dog owners or not, can enjoy a picnic at the park and still feel safe,” Ward said.

At Victoria Square in Cambridge, dogs would be prohibited during daylight saving hours and year-round at events. Outside of those times, dogs would be allowed on-leash.

Compliance manager Karl Tutty said enforcement would continue in these areas and advice, information and education would be provided if people breached the rules.

Further actions could be taken if there were repeat offenders.

“We rely on the public informing us when they see an issue or incident so our team can follow up and act promptly,” Tutty said.

Dogs would now be prohibited from Kakepuku Maunga, Lake Rotomanuka, Lake Ruatuna, Lake Rotopiko and Karāpiro Gully.

Full details of the changes, including maps of the new exercise areas, are available on the council’s website at waipadc.govt.nz/dogsreview.

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