May 9, 2008
Neighbors Petition for a Dog Park for Logan/Shaw Area
The commissioner for ANC 2F06, Michael Benardo, recently circulated an email with an online petition pushing for the creation of a dog park at the Shaw Recreation Field at 11th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW. Now, anyone who lives in a ten block radius of Logan Circle knows that the neighborhood is in desperate need of a legal dog park. Just try walking through the circle itself at dusk sometime - odds are pretty good you'll be witness to an off-leash dog getting away from its owner and darting into traffic.
But I do take issue with some of Benardo's reasoning behind why putting a dog park in Shaw Recreation Field is a good idea. Here's what the petition says:
Many of these points are fine, but the idea that the field is underutilized as an athletic field is just wrong. Nearly any afternoon, evening or weekend day when the weather is nice, there are men in this field playing soccer. I've walked past it nearly every day for the last two and a half years, and I've never once seen any "criminal activity" going on. Mostly it's just big groups of guys, using the field as it's intended. There is, on occasion, some evidence left behind that people were drinking beer at the basketball courts, but I'm not exactly sure how moving the soccer players off the field and bringing dogs and their owners in will deter that from continuing. And are there other fields nearby where athletic activity can be held? I can't think of any.>> The field is centrally located to Logan Circle, U Street and Shaw neighborhoods;
>> Residences and businesses are more than fifty feet from the field;
>> The field has historically been under-utilized as an athletic field;
>> A number of other fields exist nearby where athletic games and competitions can be held;
>> Precedent exists for redesignating parkland use, as when the tennis courts at Shaw Field were converted to a skate park;
>> Locating a dog park in Shaw Field will deter the criminal activity and public drunkenness commonly seen on the field;
>> A dog park at Shaw Field will not compromise environmental considerations, interfere with community gardens, or cause run-off contamination to streams or waterways;
>> The field is flat and will allow for easy compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Photo by IntangibleArts
|
I take it this isn't the sort of "athletic activity" you had in mind?
As long as the owners clean up the poop, I don't see this as a big deal. Can we now make Logan Circle a dog-free zone?
sommer, is he referring to the fields at kennedy rec center, maybe? i'm not sure, don't have a dog in this hunt.... :P
yeah i guess kennedy rec would be the closest place. thanks, IMGoph.
If DC established a dog-free zone I know a lot of people who would move there in a heartbeat. I like dogs myself, but way too many dog owners in this city let them run around without leashes. For somoene who's been attacked by a dog, being approached by a leashless one can be terrifying.
Why not work with dog owners to give us some place to take our dogs and exercise them? Most dog owners want to use those areas in the morning before work and in the evening. Could a compromise be to allow dog owners to use the park from 6-8am and maybe 6-8pm?
And Sommer, I'm not sure what time of day you walk by those areas, but while I'm out with my dog later in the evening I see people drinking and hanging out and smoking pot. And if you walk through that area, there is lots of broken glass, liquor bottles and not too infrequently used condoms and the occassional needle. Will dog owners keep people from getting drunk, doing drugs and having sex in those areas? Of course not, but we will clean (most) of that crap up because we don't want it to hurt our dogs (or the children who play in those areas during the school day).
I see people drinking and hanging out and smoking pot. And if you walk through that area, there is lots of broken glass, liquor bottles and not too infrequently used condoms and the occassional needle.
Sounds like this area would not have the best influence on impressionable young dogs. One or two trips and, before you know it, they're practicing safe missionary-style sex, smoking, and playing poker.
Why not work with dog owners to give us some place to take our dogs and exercise them?
This is what I don't get about people who own dogs, why would you buy a dog when you live in an area that doesn't have a place to walk/exercise your dog? Or if you already had a dog, why would you move to a place that doesn't have adequate space to accommodate it?
I like dogs, I think they're cool; but people like the jackass in my building that keeps his 120 lb. Rottweiler crated in his 850 sq ft condo are nuts.
The main problem with dog parks sharing space with something else (as reynolms proposes), is that there is always at least one jackass who will ruin it.
monkey: Got a little time on your hands since you got laid off as joke writer for the Dodd campaign?
hillrat: The whole point of the petition is that there are plenty of places for dog owners to take dogs in this city, we simply want a designated area so we can keep out of the way of people who don't like dogs and try to work within the screwed up DC system. Dogs aren't going anywhere and dog owners are paying more than their fair share of property and income taxes, so if DC can find space for a skate park is it unreasonable to ask for a little space for a dog park?
NYC does a great job of this, do they have more space than we do?
Oh yeah Sommer, there is a very large field for "athletic" activity behind Garrison Elementary that is within a few blocks of the Shaw field.
Wait, Sommer, you mean you've discovered a land-use controversy in DC, where different groups have opposing vested interests? No way!
If DC established a dog-free zone I know a lot of people who would move there in a heartbeat.
Why do these people hate freedom? Do they really want the terrorists to win?
Really, people smoke pot at Shaw Field? I'm by there at all different times of day and I've never noticed anything like that.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not actually opposed to the idea of making the field a designated dog park. I think the neighborhood really needs a fenced-in dog park and maybe this is a good solution. I just take issue with the argument that the field is currently being used for either nothing or bad things.
My understanding of the proposal is to make part of the field a park and leave part of the field as a recreational field.
yep...I'm not saying that every time I walk by there are people smoking it up...and of course they aren't in the middle of the field around a camp fire, sitting indian-style... but not infrequently I see groups of crazy kids huddled up in the nooks and crannies of the middle school, between the soccer corral and the church, etc puffing away.
I agree that there is lots of soccer playing, especially in the summer. I love the "fans" hanging out with paper bags boozing it up.
We're in yer parks takin ovr yr feeldz
/dogs
I'm with Sommer on this one. The field gets a lot of use from all sorts of members of the local community.
I've lived across the street from Shaw Middle School's field for four years now, and although I have very infrequently seen few guys who play soccer in the dark while drinking 40s, the most dangerous / annoying activity I've seen there are the preppie kickballers (ballkickers?) who recently started playing there 2-3 nights a week.
"...dog owners are paying more than their fair share of property and income taxes,..."
Proof the wealth : intelligence correlation is something less than 1.
For the record, I believe it was Lt. Michael Smith (MPD) who noted the unsavory activities that go on in that area and suggested making the space a dog park might cut down on those activities. And yes, there are quite a few athletic field areas within a few blocks, some attached to schools but not closed to the public. Finally, I'm sure I'm not the only person who did not appreciate the snide mis-characterization of the dogs in Logan Circle frequently getting away from their owners and darting into traffic. While no one will deny that there have been dogs that run into the street, it is by no means a common occurrence as anyone who actually spends time socializing there on a regular basis can attest. That said, we all agree that an official, fully-enclosed dog park is needed in our neighborhood. There are lots of open areas designated for public use, school fields, and park space leased to the Federal Government -- in fact practically all undeveloped spaces fall into one of those categories leaving no 'unclaimed' open spaces. Given the definite need in this neighborhood, an under-utilized space makes the most sense. And since dedicating part of that space as a dog park does not eliminate either the baseball/soccer field, soccer pad (which is proposed to be moved a short distance), or the skate park that currently exist there, there's little-to-no legitimate rationale for not converting one end of the field to a dog park that will benefit both dog-owners and non-dog-owners alike.
Monkey:
I think a lot of people move to DC with dogs assuming there are dog parks, like there are in real cities.
And people that live here know that enforcement of the leash laws is sporadic at best, so it's a calculated risk for them.
There are assholes on both extreme sides of this issue. I've seen really irresponsible dog owners, but I've also seen dog haters that will insist on going out of their way to cut through an obvious dog area, then bitch about the dogs.
The solution is to stop being such a Bugtussle and build some damn dog runs already. We make accomodations for nearly everything else other citizens do (the idiotic skate park thing is a good example), so we should try to make reasonable accomodations for dog owners.
I'd even argue that having a dog in DC is especially useful, since so many of the people in DC are basically pricks. The old saying 'if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog' is pretty much spot on.
I have lived on logan circle for over 4 years now and have only 4 times seen a dog dart out into traffic from the circle. It is ridiculous to exacerbate this one small problem with the dogs in the logan circle area when dogs probably dart out of their own front doors into the street more often.
Having people walk their dogs in an area creates a vigilance that often cuts down on crime. Case in point, the logan circle area has gotten much better as the prostitutes, homeless, and drug addicts stop sleeping and crapping in this public circle because of the constant presents of dog walkers makes them uncomfortable. Further, drugs have been found in the actual circle area as well as on a bench of logan circle by dog people. Would you rather have a dog or a 2 year old child get that? Dog people often pick up anything that might be temping and throw these things in the trash. Dog people generally help keep areas clean!
Case in point, the logan circle area has gotten much better as the prostitutes, homeless, and drug addicts stop sleeping and crapping in this public circle because of the constant presents of dog walkers makes them uncomfortable.
So, are dog owners the new gays? Let's have a parade!
I'm with Hillman. We should make the skate rat plaza in front of National Theater a dog park. I'd much rather step in poo than see one more skate rat f*** up yet another 50-50 grind.
Have any of them actually ever accomplished that trick? Maybe someone back in Medieval times? I recall seeing it in a tapestry in the Tower of London once.
I don't think I have ever seen a dog escaping from its owner to run into traffic. That comment assumes that dogs are stupid enough to run into traffic or not loyal enough to stay near their owners. This comment was clearly made out of ignorance.
I have to wonder: who gets run over more by cars, dogs or little kids? Offhand, I'd have to say kids only because I don't think dogs getting run over merits much newspaper coverage.
Then again, I've lost track of the number of times leashless dogs have run up and scared the crap out of people. And saying, "Oh, he's just being friendly" doesn't help. I tried using that excuse when I went door-to-door naked with a hockey mask and a axe.