Frequently Asked Questions

What is the history of this community park?

In 1956, this park space was made part of the new community of Cambrian Heights and designated, “for public reserve purposes only”. The land itself is approximately 3 hectares or 7.5 acres. It was officially designated an off-leash park by the City of Calgary in 2007 after an application was submitted by the board of Cambrian Heights Community Association.

Why is it called an “off-leash park” rather than a “dog park”?

Calgary is fortunate to have 150 public off-leash areas in our multi-use parks for Calgarians and their dogs to enjoy. All City of Calgary off-leash areas are multi-use areas. The City of Calgary does not operate any dog-only parks (however, the Calgary Associated Dog Fanciers operates a dog park near Elliston Park). As a reminder, dogs are required to be on-leash on a paved pathway in an off-leash area. You can view the online Calgary Off-Leash Dog Areas map for off-leash locations.

Did Queen’s Park Cemetery (“QPC”) attempt to annex these lands in the past?

Yes. In 2005-2006, an attempt at annexation by Calgary Parks for QPC was ultimately not approved after a recommendation by the City Land and Asset Strategy Committee to not proceed was approved at City Council in July 2006. This was the result of the focused opposition by residents and the Cambrian Heights Community Association supported by their City Alderman.

In March 2018, the community was once again informed that Calgary Parks would be filing an application with the City Planning Department to annex the off-leash park for use of QPC expansion. The Community Association mounted an extensive campaign against such annexation through both the planning regulatory avenues and with a public vocal campaign. In two open houses organized by Calgary Parks at our request, public opposition by residents of both Cambrian Heights and surrounding communities brought focused opposition to this proposal. With the support of our Ward Councillor and a strong volunteer campaign the application was ultimately withdrawn by Calgary Parks in late September.

What are the origins and path forward for the Cambrian Heights Off-Leash Park initiative?

The Cambrian Heights Off-Leash Park initiative is a community initiated and community driven project. As such, it relies on the community to make the vision for this park space a reality.

The roots of this initiative can be traced back to March 2018 and the City’s last attempt to annex this park space for Queens Park Cemetery expansion. Since then, countless volunteer hours of have taken us from defending this park space for future generations of Cambrian Heights residents through to the preliminary design concept and community engagement campaign you see before you today.

While much has been done, your ongoing support and participation is crucial to getting this initiative across the finish line. It is only through a dedicated team of volunteers that we will secure the resources to construct and maintain a park space that will be a legacy for the community.

Has the off-leash park ever been fenced-off along 32 Avenue?

The City of Calgary did install a fence along 32nd Avenue after the park space was first designated an off-leash park. Based upon safety concerns involving traffic along 32nd Avenue and unsupervised dogs in the park area, a petition by residents and a Community Association meeting vote led to the request that the City remove the fencing. This was done in 2010.

The current design concept respects this decision, and the Community Association has no current plans to install a fence on this side of the park.

Is the planting of trees going to obstruct my views within the off-leash park?

The plan is to plant trees with a high canopy in order to maintain good sight lines within the park. For example, the plan is to have the tree designs similar to that of Confederation Park.

Are there plans to install the “pathways” at this time?

The preliminary design concept was developed by drawing on the natural movement that currently exists through the space. In other words, the inherent “pathways” were used to help define the character of the space.

While the inherent “pathways” are incorporated in the preliminary design concept for illustrative and planning purposes, there is no plan to install formal pathways in the park at this time. Should the decision is made to install formal pathways, they would have to be installed according to The City of Calgary - Parks' standards.