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DCR says it's really chosen a site for a dog park in JP this time
By adamg on Tue, 11/20/2018 - 8:58am
Jamaica Plain News barks out the news that DCR has chosen land along Oakdale Street north of Green Street for a possible dog park.
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Comments
What About My Ox and My Giraffe?
Where's the park for them?
Big Canine strikes again at the expense of taxpayers with other animal companions suffering as a result.
Those wolves have become a protected class. This is discrimination.
I hope Turkey Liberation Front and the Brookline flock leads a Maoist inspired takeover of this taxpayer funded boondoggle to show them who is boss.
Sounds like a call for a
Sounds like a call for a gorilla war to me.
I guess the moral of the
I guess the moral of the story is if you are a jerk who breaks the rules and lets your dog run off leash all over the Southwest Corridor Park they will reward your crappy(pun not intended) behavior by spending resources to build you a huge dog park?
Just wait
the dog owners are coming for Fallon Field in Roslindale next. After all, what's more important, kids playing sports of their precious canine 'children'
But you're OK with everyone
But you're OK with everyone who doesn't have kids paying for your kids education, playgrounds, etc? As long as you get yours, screw everyone else - right?
I pick up more trash from humans and their offspring than I do errant poops. And yes, I do both b/c karma.
Congrats, you're perfect
So there's not dog crap around Fallon Field now that's it's a dog park? Magical thinking... Keep you dog on a leash or go to a dog park or don't get a dog. Why is that hard to understand for people? I don't want to be jumped on by a dog who is 'friendly' or 'just wants to say hello' because you can't be bothered to follow local regulations or because your special dog is exempt.
My kid will be paying taxes in 10 years and a productive member of society and your dog will be probably be dead. See the difference?
I'm far from perfect. I just
I'm far from perfect. I just don't constantly say "I've got mine so screw everyone else." You make it sound as if there are roaming packs of dogs leaving huge piles of poop everywhere you go. I've lived in this city my whole life & I can count on one hand the # of times I've stepped in poop in parks/sidewalks. I think all people should pick up their trash but unfortunately not everyone does.
You said it yourself...go to a dog park. You seem enlightened so please tell me where to take big dogs with spaces large enough for them to run.
I'm psyched your kids will be paying taxes in 10 years. I've been paying them for over 30 years - your point is that I will still have been paying taxes far longer than your kids? You are right - my dog will probably be dead in 10 years and it will be absolutely heartbreaking for my family. Not that you care; which is why you must have felt the need to make a dick-ish comment. I on the other hand hope your kids will be healthy, educated, flourish in life and own many dogs.
Maybe you should take your high horse over to Brookline and see how well the Green Dog program works. My goodness...humans and canines young and old sharing space that everyone pays for!
Have a wonderful, healthy & joyful holiday season.
I see errant dog poop all the time
And while I like to think that it is a minority of owners who do that, I remember one spring being up at Fallon Field with my son and encountering several pounds (I am estimating, but let's just say a garbage bag's worth) of poop by the trees by the corner of South and Roberts Streets. That's either one really bad dog owner or a bunch of dog owners who literally don't give a shit.
Then there's that strange phenomenon that's coming up where dog owners somehow think that when their dogs poop in the snow it magically goes away. I see evidence of that every winter.
Finally, on a personal note, I was once walking home with my then toddler when I saw a woman stop with her two dogs at the foot of my driveway. One of them squatted, then she looked at what the dog had done, bending over. I was a bit slow catching up with her, with the toddler, you know, toddling up the road, but sure enough there was a nice pile of you know what right there. My kid didn't know how to use a toilet then, but he does now. Those dogs most likely don't, but hopefully their owner has been properly trained by now.
That some dog owners equate their dogs with kids shows how detached from reality they can be. But hey, good luck with your dog looking after you when you're old.
Don't get a big dog then?
You can't just have a horse unless you have space to stable it. Similarly, if you can't deal with walking a big dog on a leash, get a small dog.
If you've never seen dog crap on peoples driveways and lawns, you must not actually live in Roslindale. I think more tellingly you're simply saying you haven't stepped in it, which is not the same as saying it isn't here.
The people who use Fallon Field as a free range dog park are exactly the people who are saying 'I've got mine, screw you'. Dogs are great but entirely optional and all I'm asking is for dog owners to actually take responsibility for their hobby animals instead of acting like this is some tragedy of the commons scenario.
You started with the kids use resources too false equivalency. Sorry I hurt your feelings. No, really.
Then vote
Do dog owners get to advocate for public space that they consider highest and best use? Or are those rights reserved for parents?
Sincerely,
A father and a dog owner
What?
I'm all for dog parks. I am against the de facto conversion of a large open public park space (Fallon Field) in a dense neighborhood to be a free range dog park. It sucks and it's selfish and it's not actually allowed.
I'm sorry leashes are too expensive for you to purchase. Perhaps a Gofund me is in order?
The dog owners down Fallon
Are the absolute worst! And the city refuses to anything about.
Then ask the powers that be
at City Hall to make a dog park in Roslindale and I guarantee people will take their dogs there instead. No dog owner wants to deal with people having conniptions because s/he just wants his or her dog to get enough exercise to tire it out. (And no - for some dogs a long walk is not even enough to tire them out. Unfortunately, I know this from experience.) I would gladly take my dog to a dog park in my neighborhood. Right now, I have to endure the dirty looks of people from other towns as I take my dog to their dog parks so it can run at full speed and get the exercise it needs.
Doggies
Haters are going to hate. If every dog owner followed every dog law people would still be opposed to dog parks. Building a dog park that a sizable number of people want is good governance. We build playgrounds, bike paths, public pools, tennis courts, etc even though users of those things have their own faults.
All parks should be off-leash but the fine for not picking up after your dog should be $1000 per poop.
Stop talking sense...the
Stop talking sense...the haters are only ok when the rest of the world bows to & pays for their brood.
I find it interesting that most people that don't have children are perfectly fine with paying for public schools, playgrounds, etc. b/c it's good for the community. But when those same taxpayers want open spaces for dogs the thought isn't reciprocal. So tell me - who are the entitled ones?
How hateful
Hate has to stop with someone. Why not you?
Really, almost nobody hates dogs.
A lot of people hate the fact that children are routinely attacked, terrorized, and maimed by dogs, however, the fact that every single time it happens the dog owner says they never could have anticipated it because their dog is usually very friendly, and the fact that this violent crime almost always goes unpunished.
If you love your dog, leash your dog.
If you love your dog, leash your dog.
That's why mine is never off leash outside of his yard. I'm too worried about an attack by a larger dog or getting scared and running into traffic. I love him so I leash him. I'm all that he has to protect him and I won't let my buddie down.
Well, no.
I love those cute rascals. However, do dogs need dog parks? No. People want dog parks 'cause they like to talk to other dog owners about their pets.
There is no reason why a dog can't get enough exercise going for a walk with his/her owner. If a certain breed needs more exercise than an owner that lives in the city (by way of an example) can give; than perhaps that person should not own that breed?
Also, the building of bike paths, public pools, tennis courts, et. al. is much less frequent than you may believe.
I disagree
I think it would be better for all residents of the city if Boston had more dog parks.
I believe it would reduce illegal behavior in inappropriate spaces and encourage fuller compliance with existing law.
Children would be safer, parks would be cleaner, and conflict would be reduced.
I don’t currently own a dog (though I have in the past), and I see the establishment of this dog park as a benefit to me and a good use of public funds.
Build it, have success, build another.
Dog Parks won't stop that SP
Dog Parks are for dogs who like to run and socialize with other dogs. There are a lot of dogs (and their owners) who cannot handle a dog park. Many of these owners take their dogs to run where there aren't any other dogs (breaking the law in the process).
Although more dog parks will remove a lot of dogs from regular parks, there will still be a significant amount of dogs being walked in places where their owners want to go.
Sounds like the moral of your
Sounds like the moral of your story is to keep your dog inside with a potty patch and no exercise. There should be a dog park anyway. Period. That way dog lovers AND dog haters are happy!
Huh.
That stretch of SW Corridor is the path I walk to the playground with my daughter approximately 12K times every summer. I'm a little confused about its viability as a dog park; you can see from the map that it's narrow, but I don't know that you get a sense of HOW narrow. It's maybe 20 feet wide for most of that stretch. By the time you put up a fence along Oakdale Street, it's even narrower. That would be fine, since it's a long-but-narrow strip of land that would give plenty of straight-line space for dogs to run--except the grade of the hill is very steep, running from Oakdale down to the fence above the railroad conduit. You're basically talking about running parallel to grade on a large hill, dodging trees while trying not to tumble sideways and end up in a heap against the concrete base of the Orange Line fence.
Nothing against the dog park, but that is a deeply weird place to put it.
Just a ruff draft
But it seems ideal for a dog run to me!
I don't live as close to that
I don't live as close to that stretch as you do, but I do run it pretty often, & see a lot of folks walking their dogs in that area during after-work hours-- say, 5:00 until 7:00 PM. Not so much during other times.
You're right that it's a little weird-- narrow, and on a slope, but that slope makes it seem narrower than it is.
I like this choice. The biggest complaint people had about the other options floated when the Beecher Street park was closed came from neighbors of the proposed sites who didn't want to deal with the noise. The train is louder than the dogs, and no houses immediately abut it.
As the DCR will control it, it will have more oversight than the Beecher Street free-for-all lot, which was great for years but devolved into a neglected, barren, crap-scented noise pit after Joe Porcelli moved & no longer maintained it.
I think it's an excellent location
It's a surprisingly large parcel for a dog park - this is going to be one of the biggest dog parks in the region.
There are flat parts of it, which maybe can be fenced off for little dogs, and I can imagine big dogs enjoying tearing up and down the "sunny play" stretch. It's not such a terrible place to park the dogmobiles, and one side of the whole parcel already has a big fence.
They'll probably have to remove the resident parking, though, if they don't want it to look like it's only a dog park for the privileged hipsters of JP.
There is a T stop right at
There is a T stop right at the beginning of the proposed park. It is even pictured in the image you posted! The laziness of drivers is mind boggling. The only "privileged" people are ones who think taxpayers should give them ample and free parking wherever they go.
You realize
This conversation is about a dog park, right? And dogs are not necessarily allowed on the T?
https://www.mbta.com/rider-etiquette
I think your knee jerked a little too hard here.
You wouldn't have to remove the resident parking
If the idea was to allow people from outside the neighborhood to use the park, they could change it to 2 hour limits non-resident/no limit for JP residents. They do that at the beginning of Morton Street by Forest Hills. That way, the residents can park there and visitors can visit while preventing commuters from clogging up the parking for 8 to 10 hours a day.
I agree
This is a great location. I don't have them any more, but my basenjis loved walking along the SW Corridor. Especially when one of the trains was going by. The boy would see and hear it and then try to chase it down. He'd be on a flexi (via harness, so no neck snapping) and would go full tilt out to the end of the 20' and then book it back to the other direction. He loved it. One time, my husband wasn't expecting it and the flexi leapt right out of his hand. The chase was on, and thankfully the train stopped at Stonybrook because the dog did, too.
And before someone bitches about my use of flexis, we reeled both dogs in and locked them to have the puppers immediately by our sides when walking amongst people (sidewalks, etc). I'm all about proper sharing with my fellow humans.