In July 2025, we asked for your feedback on the draft design for our new, dedicated off-leash dog park at Mackie Road Reserve in Bentleigh East.

Thank you to everyone who contributed. We received 296 responses — 285 via the survey and 11 by email.

We've reviewed your feedback and are making changes to the design, including:

• planting more trees and garden beds for shade and sniffing
• moving the agility equipment to create more space for running and playing
• moving the gate to make the park easier to access
• adding screening between the dog park and tennis club.

We heard that shelter, water and bins are important to you, so these will remain key features in the design.

We’ve chosen equestrian sand for the dog park. It reduces the risk of injury for dogs because it’s softer and less slippery. It’s also easier to maintain and drains well — making it a better choice than grass in busy spaces like this. We know some people would prefer grass and we carefully considered that feedback. Based on our research and experience, sand is the safest and most practical option.

What's next?

Thanks to your input, the new dog park will be a welcoming space where dogs and people can socialise and play. The existing off-leash oval in the Reserve will continue to give dogs more room to exercise and run.

We're moving into the detailed design phase, so we won't be seeking further feedback. We'll share the final design with you by the end of the year.

Construction is planned to begin early next year. We'll keep you updated as the project progresses.

Published 6 October 2025.

We’re planning a new, dedicated off-leash dog park at Mackie Road Reserve in Bentleigh East. Located at the Orange Street end of the Reserve next to the tennis clubs the space will be fully fenced with a double-entry gate for your dog’s safety.

We want to hear your feedback on the draft concept plan.

What types of play and agility equipment do you want to see in the park? And what about other important features like seating, shelters and drinking fountains, that will help make the space comfortable and welcoming?

Whether you’re a dog owner or regular visitor to the Reserve — we want to hear from you.

With more than 13,000 dogs registered in Glen Eira, the need for dedicated spaces for people to socialise and exercise their four-legged friends is more important than ever.

Open spaces like Mackie Road Reserve are important places for our community to be connected and active, and they support residents — and their pups — to have a good quality of life here in Glen Eira.

The consultation is open from Monday 7 to Sunday 27 July.

This project is part of the Mackie Road Reserve Masterplan — our long-term blueprint that guides future upgrades of the Reserve.

The Mackie Road Reserve Dog Park project is supported by the Victorian Government through the New and Upgraded Dog Parks Program.

Community engagement is open from Monday 7 to Sunday 27 July.

Have your say by:

• 📝Completing the survey below — The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.
• 📍 Joining us at our in-person pop-up at Mackie Road Reserve on Wednesday 9 July 10am to 1 pm or Thursday 17 July 2pm to 5 pm.
• 📞Calling to speak to a member of the community engagement team on (03) 9524 3333.
• 📩Emailing your feedback to engagement@gleneira.vic.gov.au

You can also request a hard copy of the survey form to be posted to you.  To request this, contact us via email or call us (03) 9524 3333.

Glen Eira City Council is committed to protecting the personal information provided by you in accordance with the principles of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic). The privacy collection notice explains the purpose for which information is collected, and how we will use and handle the information. You can view the privacy collection notice for this project here: Privacy Collection Notice.