Lexington Considers Banning Dogs in Willard’s Woods
Lexington, like many other towns in the metro Boston area, has a voice control law (rather than a leash law as in Maynard). Willard’s Woods is reportedly a popular place for dog owners to take their dogs for hikes off-leash. Now, however, the abutters are complaining and the town is considering banning dogs, requiring leashes, or otherwise restricting legal off-leash activity in the area. See today’s Boston Globe article for more. Local residents have sent many letters to the editor of the Lexington Minuteman - check them out here. The Lexington Conservation Commission will hold a hearing about whether dogs should be leashed in Willard’s Woods at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23, Room G-15/Town Office Building, 1625 Mass. Ave.
DCR and the Fells
Although Maynard is nowhere near the Middlesex Fells, a large park that covers parts of Malden, Medford, Stoneham, Melrose, and Winchester, it’s still great to hear that the state agency that runs it (the Dept. of Conservation & Recreation, or DCR) “is currently looking into the possibility of off-leash areas at a number of state parks and facilities across the Commonwealth, and the Middlesex Fells will certainly be part of that discussion.” The agency spokesperson went on to say, “This agency does appreciate how popular the idea of off-leash areas is among dog owners.”
Marblehead Park Update
Interesting article about the situation in Marblehead, where organizers have been trying to establish a dog park for several years. They’ve raised only $12,000 out of an estimated $40,000 needed. Even so, they expect to open in September if they manage to get enough volunteer labor to finish the fence.
They’re holding a fundraiser on August 9.
What Happened in North Andover?
While searching for information on a dog park in North Reading, I happened to stumble across this article from 2007 on a dog park effort in North Andover. Some interesting points about the N. Andover effort:
- They collected 100 signatures in favor of a dog park, then asked the Board of Selectmen for permission to work with the town planner to finalize a location and a proposal (we gathered more than 600 signatures in a much smaller town)
- They wanted to use an acre of town land and raise $12,000 in private donations to fence the parcel (exactly the same as our proposal)
- They proposed that both residents and non-residents would be allowed to use the dog park. The town could charge fees to the people who use it, and charge more to non-residents (same as our proposal)
- They proposed that the Department of Public Works could mow the grass and take out the trash, and a volunteer dog park committee could handle any other maintenance (same as our proposal)
- Their board of selectmen said their proposal sounded “awesome” and gave their approval
So now for the questions:
- What is the difference between N. Andover’s board of selectmen and Maynard’s board in terms of receptiveness to a proposal such as this one?
- Why hasn’t N. Andover’s dog park become a reality? Searching Google for more information brings up nothing. If anyone knows more, please let us know!
Letters to the Editor
In many communities, people write impassioned letters to the editor regarding their feelings about off-leash dogs. Here are just two of our favorites:
Green Dog program makes neighborhood stronger (Brookline):
Brookline’s Green Dog Program enhances the sense of community in our neighborhoods. Community building thrives on the regular contact that cannot be achieved by a yearly party, yard sale or potluck. Not all community building takes place in the schools. The benefits to the community of the Green Dog Program are numerous. We help each other, counsel each other, hire each other’s children, console each other and celebrate with each other. Our dogs are socialized, which reduces aggression. We welcome new neighbors and help people to feel that they belong to a real community.
And another agrees (Northborough):
People, who happen to own dogs, are requesting recreational space where they would have the opportunity to meet friends with a common interest. The features of this project provide the cornerstone to a genuine sense of community. Northborough residents have come to the town with such requests resulting in sports fields, tennis courts, a skateboard park, playgrounds, a water park and most recently a senior center and a library with meeting rooms. The request for an area safe for dogs and their humans that is noninvasive to other town citizens is as logical as the other facilities listed above.
Lessons Learned from the Trouble in Newton
Newton is currently running a 9-month trial of legal off-leash recreation at Cold Spring Park. According to this article in the Boston Globe, there are a number of problems, including unhappy neighbors. The neighbors complain about increased traffic and on-street parking, dog owners not obeying the rules, and people coming to the park from all over the area. There appear to be conflicting users of the area as well - dog owners, runners, and soccer players.
What can MayDOG learn from these problems?
First, an important ingredient for a successful dog park is adherence to reasonable rules by dog owners. Having a park be the end result of a community-wide effort, and requiring paid permits to use the area once it is established, may help create a sense of ownership of the park. A strong sense of ownership leads to people taking better care of the park and applying peer pressure on other park users to do the same.
Second, taking a part of an established park as a dog park can cause conflict. Luckily, the area where MayDOG hopes to establish a park is not currently used by any other constituencies.
Third, parking and traffic need to be accomodated at any park. In this case, it sounds like there isn’t enough parking at the park, and the street sounds like it was a quiet residential street before the park was made official. In our case, the landfill is on a major road with few close-by houses, and there seems to be adequate space for plenty of parking to be created off the street.
Fourth, the Cold Spring off-leash area is not fenced. This is a major impediment to a successful park, and one that will not apply to our park.
Finally, the neighbors complain that most of the visitors to the park aren’t from the neighborhood. In our case, Maynard is small and we’re all in the same neighborhood. Increased visitors from out of town may be good for our local economy. And again, requiring paid permits may reduce the number of casual visitors.
Hopefully, the Friends of Cold Spring Park can work through these issues and end up with a wonderful amenity that is around for years to come. And hopefully, the lessons from the conflicts in other communities will help us find better solutions here in Maynard.
Dog parks in Massachusetts
Here’s a map of all the dedicated, fenced dog parks in Massachusetts (that we know of). There’s also a spreadsheet with more detail available here.
Kind of puts things in context. Have you visited any of these? Feel free to comment - we’d be interested in hearing your experiences.
Instructions: Click on a marker to get information on each park. Use the plus and minus buttons on the left side of the map to zoom in and out. Click and drag on the map to scroll within, or open the map in a new window by clicking “View Larger Map”.
Inspiring video from Kirkwood, MO
From Kirkwood, Missouri, a town near St. Louis, comes this great video of citizens talking about why their town needs a dog park:
Short version (3 minutes)
Full version (9 minutes)
From their website, it doesn’t look like they’ve gotten their park yet… but their video is really inspiring!
Medway Dog Park
One of the few fenced dog parks in Massachusetts is located about 45 minutes south of Maynard in Medway, MA. The Henry Garnsey Canine Recreation Park (named for the town’s first settler) was established in 2002 as an Eagle Scout community service project by Tim Dumas, who was 15 at the time.
Visitors to the park are required to obtain an annual permit and tag for each dog they wish to bring. The tags are free, but require that an application be filled out and sent to the Medway Animal Control Officer along with a copy of the rabies certificate for each dog and a self-addressed stamped envelope. The Medway Animal Control Officer contacts the officer in your town to make sure that your dogs don’t have a history of aggression or other complaints. Then they send you a packet containing the tags, a donation request form, a copy of the park rules, a schedule of fines for violating the rules, and recommended park etiquette.
The process took about 3 months in our case, mainly because the Maynard animal control officer was out on disability leave when Medway attempted to contact him. However, it’s worth going through the process if you want to take your dogs to the park, because the dog officer can and will fine anyone who does not have the appropriate tags. On the other hand, since the dog officer just makes spot checks, visitors are on the honor system for the most part.
In my opinion, this process could be used in Maynard, perhaps with the addition of requiring an annual fee of around $10 per dog for non-Maynard residents (Maynard residents would be permitted to use our park without paying any additional fee other than our annual dog license fee).
Good news from Newton
Congratulations to the Friends of the Cold Spring Dog Park group in Newton!
The Newton Park and Recreation Commission has approved a proposal to designate part of an existing ballfield as Newton’s first off-leash park. The park will open for a nine-month trial period as soon as rules for off-leash recreation are posted.
From the news story, it sounds as though the process has been arduous, slow, and contentious. Hopefully things will go more smoothly in Maynard, but we should be prepared for a fight and/or lots of delays. In the end, however, a committed group of activists can make things happen!
