Off leash dogs not in dog parks, good idea?

Arghhhh!!!!
I am a dog lover, I am. I also happen to prefer bigger dogs but this love is being tarnished and eroded rapidly.
I live right next to a beautiful wilderness park (in the middle of the city) which I enjoy walking through several times per week.
This park is home to many birds, and also to coyotes.
On account of this, naturally, there is signage at the entrance that says in no uncertain terms, clean up after your dog, and keep your dog under direct care and control at ALL TIMES, as well as a warning of a $500 fine for not complying.



As you can see the first image shows a person cleaning up after a dog that is on a leash.
I know these pictures are small but I hope you'll trust me when I tell you that the second sign says "All pets MUST be kept under direct control. For your safety and the safety of the animals"
Well, apparently some knucklehead somewhere decided that this wouldn't do and that this park should be an off leash park, common sense and safety of all, be damned.
Last week I was walking through and heard the most vicious dog fight I have ever heard, I stopped dead in my tracks, paralyzed with fear and praying these dogs weren't in the near vicinity of me, they weren't thank God.
It did leave me shaken though, a few minutes later I happened upon an elderly Rottweiler and his master, I was sure this dog was not part of the melee because of the pace which he moved at. I carried on.
Within about 10 or 15 feet I came to a bend where a shepherd mix stood in the middle of the path, perhaps interested in the dog that had just passed me, who knows. Now I can be the first to list the differences between dog and human aggression, as well as how just because a dog is dog aggressive does NOT mean it will be human aggressive, but faced off with a waist high dog under the circumstances, that is of little, if any, comfort to me.
Maybe it was the scent of my fear but the dog starts barking at me, now I mentioned I am a fan of big dogs, I happen to be a staunch supporter of pit bulls, but I can not tolerate an off leash dog of any breed that is going to approach me aggressively, no matter what. So here I am, an almost 30 year old woman nearly in tears, pretty much screaming "Can you please call your dog". To the owners credit, once she figured out what was going on she called the dog and leashed it right away, I have also seen her since then and the dog has been on leash.
Within 3 minutes of this it happens again, another rotti, another 'puppy', this time the owner is not as gracious and I really wish I had a can of mace, not sure if my aim would have met the dog or the owner but once I pass her I am really in tears, by then I have missed my paths and end up about 20 minutes late to pick my son up because there is no way in hell that I am walking back through that park.
I have now started emailing the hell out of the city and parks board and am finally getting somewhere, luckily I have nothing but time to attend more meetings (which I will likely need to be sedated for).
Just so you know, I now carry a very big stick when I'm out, I suppose this will probably help decrease the scent of fear, but so help me God if it happens again, owner in sight or not, I'll be using it.
Some dog owners I have spoken to seem to think I am unreasonable, I tell them that they should be just as pissed as me or more because it's irresponsible owners that make people hate dogs and fight tooth and nail against off leash areas.
A few reasons why your dog should be on a leash in this park:

- Many birds nest in the brush along the trails, off leash and out of sight dogs can disrupt them and their nests quite easily.
- It's hard enough to get dog owners to clean up after dogs they see use the facilities, much harder when the dog is off leash and out of site
- The park used to be a dump, there is lord knows what kind of hazards out on site, when dogs are off leash and out of site it is much harder to keep them safe.
- The park is frequented by people who don't like dogs, when your dog is off leash and out of site it is going to be very hard for you to prove that it didn't attack me before I hit it with my stick or sprayed it with mace (I would never do either of these unprovoked but there are people out there who are nuttier then I am).
- If I am walking my leashed dog in a park where the sign says all dogs must be leashed, your dog approaches, and mine takes exception, it will be harder for you to protect your dog from mine when you have no leash on yours.

Garry Point in Steveston is currently facing the same debate (or recently has).