Toronto wants future condo towers to be more pet-friendly
CBC News Toronto
By John Rieti
31 July 2017
There are between four and eight pets on every Toronto highrise floor,
city planners believe, and now they're looking for new ways to handle
that.
The city is turning to consultants to come up with a set of design
guidelines to make high-density areas better for pets, and will also be
looking for advice from the public.
How to keep downtown Toronto from going to the dogs
"We are a pet-friendly place — the question is how to we make it more
so," James Parakh, a program manager for urban design at the city.
Parakh says the review will look at everything from how new towers are
dealing with dog pee — yes, that's a serious issue — to ensuring
there's enough space for animals to be walked outside.
And it won't be just dogs, planner Ran Chen adds. One idea that's been
floated is having condo ventilation hooked up to areas where cat owners
keep litter boxes to cut down on smell.
That may sound far-fetched, but Mona El Khafif, a professor of
architecture with the University of Virginia, says it's definitely
possible.
"They have ventilation for all kinds of things … For sure you could incorporate that," she said.
"You could also have, in the entrance area of a condo, a little room
where you can wash your pets before you go upstairs to your condo —
there are so many things."
City shouldn't miss a chance to rethink urban design, architect says
She says the city's right to rethink how buildings are dealing with
animals, but her concern is that this is actually a "lost opportunity"
to discuss how public spaces can be improved for everyone.
"This is a design question," she said, pointing out that more green areas are needed for a range of reasons, not just for dogs.
Parakh says it's premature to say what will be in the guidelines, but
said the city will also be holding consultations with pet owners as
well as those concerned about the presence of pets in buildings.
At a downtown dog park, many owners were quick to share their suggestions.
As a dog-walker and frequent dog-sitter, Aaron Anderson told CBC
Toronto that finding a pet-friendly building near a park was his goal
the last time he went looking for an apartment.
"It's a selling feature for me and a lot of people, I think," he said.
Anderson has also noticed some buildings starting to offer amenities, primarily to dog owners, like wash stations.
Samantha Driscoll says her small dog, Roxy, is happy in her condo,
although sometimes it can be a challenge to find a place for her to
pee. There are planters, she says, but many explicitly say "No dogs."
Driscoll's other complaint is that the building lacks an outdoor green
bin, where she could dispose of dog waste.
Despite the downside, Driscoll, who also walks her colleague's big Labrador, says the city does offer some good services.
"I think having these off-leash dog parks downtown is really helpful —
especially for these bigger, more high-energy dogs," she said, watching
several dogs chase one another around Clarence Square Dog Park, near
Front Street and Spadina Avenue.
The city is set to choose a consultant for the project by this fall and
hopes to have the design guidelines in place by next summer.
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