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City looks at adding dedicated dog area to Roslindale park
By adamg on Thu, 01/26/2017 - 10:36am
The Boston Parks and Recreation Department holds a public meeting on Feb. 7 to hear what people think about the idea of carving out part of Fallon Field for a dog area.
The session starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Roche Community Center, 1716 Centre St. in West Roxbury.
A number of dog owners already let their pets run free on the Fallon baseball fields in the morning.
There are currently no dedicated dog parks or runs in Boston south of the small dog run at the Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain.
City Councilor Tim McCarthy mentioned the possibility at a meeting earlier this week on a far larger proposal for an abandoned recreation center in the Hyde Park end of the state-owned Stony Brook Reservation.
City Councilor Matt O'Malley has said he wants to work with DCR on putting a dog area somewhere in the Southwest Corridor Park.
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Comments
Formalize it
They've already taken over. Maybe setting aside some space would limit the jerk impact in the rest of the park.
Next to the track
Can they just fence off the area between the tunnel, the sidewalk and the railroad tracks? That's not used for recreation and is dead space.
You've confused me
The railroad tracks and the sidewalk compose the entire boundary of the park.
Were I to throw out some space, I would say put if over by South Walter Street. It would interfere with the baseball less. There is a bit of space between the walkway and the tracks over by the Fairview Street entrance, but there are a lot of brush that would need to be cleared, and the people who live by that entrance might not want it.
South Fairview side
I'm referring to the space to south of the path that is the continuation of South Fairview, between the train fence and the path. No impact on the athletic fields, already unused.
Then the baseball shaggers at
Then the baseball shaggers at the Park league games will have to step in shit.
Still can't
wrap my head around why we invest money in infrastructure for people pets.
Why we invest money in pet infrastructure
For the same reason we invest money in tennis courts, baseball diamonds, swimming pools, etc. Taking their dog to the dog park is something many people enjoy doing, just as many enjoy playing tennis or baseball, or going swimming.
Mostly just people with dogs
Mostly just people with dogs enjoy them. Those other activities you mentioned can be enjoyed by far more people.
How do you feel about playgrounds?
I have no need for them. Should I oppose?
You really think more people
You really think more people swim as regularly or play tennis as regularly as those that tae their dogs to the dog park? I've got some harsh news for you...
Down with dog parks! ....BUY
Down with dog parks! ....BUY A CAT (preferably adopt)
Well dammit
I demand public bird cages and communal fish tanks. We need to end the discrimination already.
Unfortunately
Dog owners have already taken over the park. A dedicated spot would hopefully minimize the negative impact they currently have on Fallon and the arboretum.
Date
Here's the official posting from Boston Parks - https://www.boston.gov/public-notices/15096
Thanks
Obviously, I stupidly left that out of the original post. Fixed.
unfortunatley
you have to use it at your own risk [disclaimer]
or regulate it.
because people will
1 not clean up
2 bring aggressive -untrained- unvaccinated etc. dogs
3 which in turn leads to conflicts -injuries - lawsuits .
p.s.
I don't live there or own a dog anymore
as much as I love dogs .
those are facts
Yeah!
Excited that there are steps towards a solution. I am a dog owner but don't go to Fallon b/c of the off leash dogs. Also concerned about the lack of a fence b/w the new playground and the dogs.
Two good choices that I see, and bot would require dogs be registered and tagged to use the space. One idea is to make the space shared (a la Brookline) and have restricted hours for dogs. Use the registration fees to help with extra maintenance that will be necessary from the dogs' use. Alternatively, have a fenced off designated area that someone already recommend above. I still think that dogs who use the park should be tagged (that way encouraging vaccinated, neutered dogs), and the fees can go towards paying for water and refuse bags/trash disposal. Fines go to unlicensed dogs. This is how the system worked when I lived in Durham, NC and it was lovely.
My Fallon Field hope
Is that the playground fence is coming. If not, that's bad. Dogs aside, it is nice that you can let your 2 to 5 year old run relatively free within a fenced playground. My little one loves the new playground, but he is also skittish around dogs (leashed or not.)
Still, dedicating an area to the dogs would be a good thing, as long as the owners are responsible owners. Most are, but some are almost literally shitty.
Unfortunately there are no
Unfortunately there are no plans for a fence!
A lot of people complain that
A lot of people complain that families leave, then they go and advocate removing amenities to replace them with things more suitable for professionals with pets who are just going to leave anyway.
Can you go drive down to Fallon Field and take a look?
Nothing's getting removed. In fact, the city just put down some major money (close to $1 million, I think) for a cool new playground there.
If anything, this would be a way to get the dogs off the baseball fields, using some land that right now isn't used for much of anything.
Note, I have no dog in this fight - we have no dog, our kid long ago aged out of the playground and if I seriously tried to take advantage of the baseball field, the basketball court or the street-hockey area, I'd probably need a ride over to the Faulkner after, oh, five, maybe six minutes).