I never thought I'd see this much discussion on the list about dog parks---bear with me---I've been working on this issue for four years.
The reason we don't have a dog park in the 6th Park District is simple---we have not had a commissioner that is supportive on this issue. The Isles site exists because Commissioner Mason wanted it, and the Columbia Park site exists because Commissioner Dziedzic wanted it. Are we seeing a pattern here? (What a District Commissioner wants, he/she gets.) The Isles site intially had tons of opposition, but ROMP, the neighborhood, and the comissioner created a design that has been a huge success. The William Berry site is big enough that, if designed properly, could be buffered from immediate neighbors. But instead of trying to forge a compromise the commissioner is now proposing a site that is too close to Minnehaha Creek, has no available parking, is small, poorly lit, remote, and would be unsafe for users. Here's the real problem. Dog parks are a legitimate recreational use. Their implementation has been a struggle for our community, but so is almost any change in the use of our park land. (Remember the Lake Calhoun tot lot meetings?) The amount of time and money spent on this issue is staggering---$13,000 just for the facilitator for the most recent 6th District process alone. That doesn't include Park Staff time, citizen volunteer hours, Commissioners' time, and countless public meetings that have accomplished nothing except creating division among neighbors. Our park system boasts over 6000 acres of park space, and currently less that 10 acres are designated for dog parks. Certainly not excessive, given the demand. Almost anything we do to alter our green space for recreation could be considered detrimental to the environment. After all, there aren't alot of trees left on a baseball field, no grass on a tennis court, and no native plantings at the playground. Dog parks allow a large group of citizens to utilize a small portion of park land to recreate with their dogs, get to know one another, and build community. It's time for the Park Board to fulfill its committment to this project. Jean Johnson, ROMP member East Harriet __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more http://games.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
