“Low-Key Terrifying”: Banff Weighs Second Dog Park Exit After Elk, Coyotes Block Gate

Banff town council is considering adding a second exit gate to the Sundance Dog Park after a resident warned repeated wildlife encounters had prevented dog owners from safely leaving the area.

Council unanimously voted Tuesday to have town staff examine the possibility of adding a second exit at the park during next year’s budget planning process after resident Kathy McNeil submitted a letter describing several dangerous encounters involving elk and coyotes.

McNeil said the dog park’s primary entrance is located along the Middle Springs Wildlife Corridor and that the only other gate has remained chained and locked since the off-leash park opened in 2021.

She said the area is regularly used by coyotes, elk, wolves and bears, making multiple exits important for helping park users avoid close encounters with wildlife.

“Having only one gate has, in my opinion, become a significant safety hazard,” McNeil wrote to council.

McNeil said several groups of dog owners and park users have been unable to safely leave the fenced area during wildlife encounters and were forced to wait for Parks Canada wardens to respond.

“On many occasions several of us have been trapped in the park until Parks Canada staff have been able to move the wildlife away so that we can leave safely,” she wrote.

The letter described several incidents near the park over the past year, including one involving a dead elk carcass near the creek beside the dog park where a pack of coyotes had gathered.

McNeil said roughly a dozen people and 15 dogs inside the park were unable to leave until Parks Canada wardens secured the area and escorted them out safely.

She also described a series of encounters last fall involving aggressive elk congregating near the park entrance.

“Last October, four days in a row a herd of elk congregated at the gate to the dog park and no one could get in or out,” she wrote. “The elk were being aggressive and charging the fence because many of the dogs were barking at the elk.”

McNeil said Parks Canada wardens also responded on multiple occasions after elk allegedly charged dogs and their owners as they attempted to leave the park.

Mayor Corrie DiManno said the incidents described in the letter highlighted the need to examine whether another exit could improve safety at the park.

“The whole concept of feeling trapped in the dog park if there is wildlife around is low-key terrifying,” DiManno said.

Counc. Marc Ledwidge said McNeil had previously raised the issue with him and said the wildlife safety concerns were legitimate.

“It’s definitely a genuine concern there,” Ledwidge said.

The motion does not approve construction of the second gate but places the proposal into the town’s upcoming budget review process.