Why does Leon lack plenty of space to walk your dog

[Série 5/5] In Lyon, it is rare to have free spaces where dogs can stretch their legs. From “canisites” to “dog free zones,” where can you walk your dog without it being vocalized?

Good question, dog owners told us. If the size of a city like Lyon makes it possible to walk long distances, on a leash on sidewalks, where can you allow your dog to really extend its legs?

In most green spaces, dogs should be kept on a leash or completely prohibited. Often, it is allowed to release it in small, fenced spaces that are not enough to spend it.

What they call ‘dog parks’ are disgusting things that have never been cleaned.

Founded in January 2020, by a former journalist from Lyon, Dog Care Lyon or Bicalyon has been campaigning since January 2020 for the better integration of dogs into the city. The owners who are part of it began to list on the map The different permitted or prohibited places for dogs in Lyon. In the city itself, dozens of parks where dogs can come for a walk are listed, as well as about two dozen other parks where gentlemen take their dogs to stretch their legs, whether authorized or not.

The list is certainly not exhaustive, but there is no similar official card at the moment in Lyon.

Lyon distinguishes between two types of dog zones: dog free zones and health zones.

The first are fairly large fenced areas, in the ground or covered with scattered grass. A stone’s throw from Place Bellecour, for example, a strip of plane trees crammed between the hopper and Place Antonin Poncet performs this function. And so you can throw the ball to your dog, just in a straight line, with the soft sound of cars passing under the hopper in the background.

In Parilly, in Bron, there is a larger dog park, equipped with equipment to introduce your dogFit (dog sport). Due to the high demand, it is very difficult to be able to benefit your dog.

For seconds, it’s all in the name. This is a real “health” for dogs: small fenced areas of earth or sand, where they can go to defecate without the owners having to pick up their droppings. Imagine a dry public toilet in the open air, where excreta accumulates for several days. These devices, expensive to maintain, are no longer common.

Nicholas Husson, deputy mayor of Lyon in charge of the city’s biodiversity, nature and animal protection asserts: “We no longer adopt the logic of small dogs that are often very fragrant and difficult to keep. For animal welfare, we believe that larger spaces are needed, so that the animal can Also playing sports and socializing with other dogs, in their designated freedom spaces…”

Tiffin, owner of Isko, a 9-year-old Australian shepherd, has her say:

“I avoid going there. What they call ‘dog parks’ are actually little things that dogs need. Disgusting things that are never cleaned up.”

Dogs illegally released in public parks

That is why Tiffin and her companion do not hesitate to take their dog for a walk on the outskirts of Lyon, in the Bois de Serres in Ekali, in Verneson, or even in the large Méribel Gounag park.

For their daily walks in Lyon, many dog ​​owners left them in some public park, hoping they wouldn’t get caught. Victor and Mary, in their twenties, ran and played regularly with their little dog Oxy in Gerland Park. They often come across Sky, a ten-year-old Border Collie who is accompanied by his master Martin. For him, there is no question of putting his dog on a leash.

“I adopted Sky at the SPA 7 years ago, says the young man. I taught him to leave a leash straight away because I couldn’t take public transportation with him. I didn’t have a car at the time. If you have to carry luggage or go shopping and keep the dog on a leash, that’s a lot .

Walking with him without a leash also allows him to exert himself both physically and intellectually. In dog parks, there is not enough space and too many dogs, which generates tensions. Otherwise you have to go to the other end of Lyon. »

In Lyon, owners are organizing new spaces to walk their dogs

Ahead of the 2020 urban and municipal elections, Pickalion presented candidates with an agreement to get a better dog spot in town. Elected environmentalists Gregory Ducet, current Mayor of Lyon, and Bruno Bernard, current Mayor of Lyon, have agreed to sign this charter.

A few weeks after coming to power, the city of Lyon launched an animal mission to contemplate a guiding policy for pets on its territory. In this context, Métropole asked the Bicalyon group for its opinion on the matter.

Dog owners made many recommendations, particularly regarding the issue of dogs’ access to public transport in Lyon (TCL), and suggested several ways to improve the coexistence of dogs and humans in Lyon, here are some examples:

– Make some public squares and neighborhood parks accessible to citizens accompanied by their dogs, either permanently or during periods of time, depending on the season of the year.
To provide every municipality in the city of Lyon, every district in the city of Lyon, with at least one play area for dogs in the joint administration “City – Masters” in order to empower the gentlemen.
Providing all major parks in the metropolitan area of ​​Lyon with a large area for dogs. »

Founded in 2017, the association ” Montlock truffles He also addressed the lack of dog spaces, starting with the Fort de Montluc park which has been turned into a “common space” with plenty of equipment for agility with your dog.

Last year, the association, which has come to be called the collective “Les Truffles de Lyon,” launched a petition asking the City Council in the 7th arrondissement to review the small dog space that was set up in 2014 in Blandin Park, in a “tattered state”. and “unsafe for dogs and other park users,” according to the petition.

Soon dog parks in buildings?

The Vice President in charge of animal protection for the city of Lyon, Pierre Athanas, confirmed that an “Assises de la condition anonyme” will take place soon to discuss the whereabouts of pets in the city. There will be a special question for these spaces where residents will be able to give up their dogs.

“We have to do more and better,” he admits. At one time, there were misfit problems. The concept needs to be revised. There is a lot of work going on with the municipalities to develop equipment in these areas because in the city, dogs often lack physical activity. Public spaces are limited with bikes, cars, markets… We are also thinking of condominiums and social landlords who can provide dog areas in some of the larger complexes. »

For Lyon, “the well-being of dogs is closely related to that of Lyonnais and Lyonnais.” Nicholas Howson, Deputy Mayor, believes that one way to improve the living conditions for dogs in the city also includes greening the roads:

“Providing a greener city, closer to the population, is also good for the dog while walking. Cool shaded walkways with lighter floors and less hot in summer develop a dog’s well-being, and provide better conditions for their airways and paws.

When we spread a fair network of water points in Lyonnaises and Lyonnais, it is also good for our dogs in summer, who will have water to hydrate themselves. »