A city parks manager said yesterday that Boston is looking at how to put a dog park in every neighborhood - potentially good news for residents in the city's southern half, who currently have none and who have been repeatedly rebuffed by state officials on the large expanses of state parkland in the area.
The issue came up last night in a meeting about rebuilding the playground and paths at West Roxbury's Millennium Park. Although they knew it was "out of scope" for the meeting, several residents brought up the issues of dogs and a possible dog park at the large park along the Charles River.
"We're working toward a dog park in every neighborhood," Allison Perlman, a Parks and Recreation project manager for the Millennium Park work, said.
Park regular David Wean of Roslindale, said Millennium really needs a dog park if only to isolate the "really entitled" dog owners who now let their unleashed animals roam free, no matter how many signs parks workers put up about dog leashing. "Two friends of mine have been attacked by loose dogs," he said.
Perlman acknowledged she's heard stories like that from so many people.
"Perhaps Millennium Park is an ideal location for a dog park," she said, adding, however, "We haven't looked into it yet."
However, the same issue that will make it challenging to put in a new playground and possibly a permanent restroom building will likely doom any dog park proposal: The fact that the park sits atop five decades worth of Boston trash, which is sealed in mainly by plastic sheeting.
In fact, several years ago, dog owners in West Roxbury, Hyde Park and Roslindale organized to get a dog park built in southwest Boston - and originally proposed one for Millennium Park, only to be told that was impossible because of concerns any construction might puncture or damage the lining.
So they found a spot in the state's Stony Brook Reservation, raised $10,000 to design a dog park at a long abandoned playground facility for children with disabilities and spent a couple of years working with DCR on the plans, only to be foiled by state Rep. Angelo Scaccia of Hyde Park, who managed to kill the plans, which led DCR to come up with an alleged alternative plan to make an entire third of the reservation into a dog park, which, of course, it then never followed through on.
In 2018, DCR proposed a dog park on a stretch of the Southwest Corridor Park in Jamaica Plain. DCR shelved those plans last year.
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Comments
The MBTA allows pets.
By Lee
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 2:07pm
With on street parking removed that frees up a lot of street space that can be turned over to bus and bike lanes, wider sidewalks and other things that make getting around Boston without a car a lot easier and cheaper.
Call me ignorant but....
By Gary C
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 11:37am
How much digging do you need to do for a dog park? OK, it needs a fence. If the topsoil is REALLY that thin, you could build weighted bases for the fence posts on top of the soil.
It's the piss and shit
By anon
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 12:52pm
that we don't need. Let your dog piss in your own yard and shit on that cheap sofa you bought at Bernie and Phil's.
That has nothing to do with
By Bill C
Tue, 02/09/2021 - 1:12pm
That has nothing to do with avoiding digging on top of a landfill to not hit the plastic sheeting though.
Will furries have unfettered access rights?
By Friartuck
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 1:10pm
Say 830 pm until dawn?
Dogs
By Bugs Bunny
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 1:34pm
it’s not fair for dogs to be stuck in condos/apartments and can’t run around a few times a day. City living is not fair to dogs.
You could say the same for
By anon
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 2:34pm
You could say the same for children.
The point here is that some parents feel entitled to have tax payers pay for playgrounds (and schools!) and then complain about their taxes being used for a dog park.
I don't play tennis, baseball, soccer or basketball...but i know fellow citizens do and am happy to contribute to keeping ppl healthy and happy. I don't have children but am happy to pay for a playground that I will never use and am happy to pay even more for a school system I will never use.
Seems to me that some parents these days are just selfish and narrow minded if it's doesn't benefit them or their kids.
That's on the owners then?
By Parkwayne
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 2:45pm
I'm fine with dog parks but people who live in condos should only get small dogs, in fairness to the animals not for any larger societal reason.
Them, if you live in the city,
By whyaduck
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 2:46pm
perhaps you should not have a dog?
Cmon
By mkf
Sat, 02/06/2021 - 9:16am
Just like if you live in a small apartment, you should not have children? This is absurd. Animals bring people joy, they are an enormous positive for mental health, they help people get exercise, and in this pandemic in particular, their pets have been their life lines. Conversely, some folks cannot live elsewhere. They are unquestionably an investment, but all of these points assume dog owners aren't entitled to expect anything from their government which ignores that the city has literally built dog parks in the South End, Southie, and East Boston but not our area which has much more space available for one. And other cities offer them.
And will they be maintained
By anon
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 3:24pm
And will they be maintained as well as the people parks are?
To the main point
By Waquiot
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 3:47pm
Something needs to be done about the unleashed dogs at Millennium Park. It’s really bad there, and the owners are absolutely clueless.
Asking Nicely
By APB
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 4:00pm
May we have a cat park, too, please? Secure from dogs.
Lovely thought.
By Lee
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 7:36pm
But it would have to be safe from other cats as well. Cats just don’t make instant pals the way dogs do.
Nice idea.
By Lee
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 7:35pm
But it would have to be safe from other cats as well. Cats just don’t make instant pals the way dogs do.
Dogs parks make for better parks
By Anon
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 4:16pm
Most dog owners are respectful and follow the rules.
There is a park near me that used to be a drinking hangout for local teens. The presence of dogs and their owners has eliminated that. From my observation, most of the trash and cigarette butts are generated from people playing softball. There are plenty of parks that accommodate a dog park. More use at more hours makes parks safer, and more people feel safer using them.
And finally, Donald Trump did not have a dog.
Good. Because dog shit is
By anon
Fri, 02/05/2021 - 11:22pm
Good. Because dog shit is all over the sidewalks. Or is that human shit?
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