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East Cambridge email — sample 1
From: Craig Kelley [mailto:craig@craigkelley.org]
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 1:22 PM
Subject: Shared Use Meetings to Discuss future Pilot Program of limited off-leash times for Dogs at Raymond Street Park (Avon Hill) and Gold Star Mothers Park (East Cambridge)
Folks:
As if I didn't make the subject line long enough, I'll qualify it a bit more here. The City has been investigating TRYING a LIMITED shared use option at some local parks, where dog owners could let their dogs run off leash during morning hours (6 AM – 9 AM). You'll learn more if you read what I've pasted below, but to shorten things up, we looked at five parks, had 5 public meetings, had lots and lots of working group meetings and narrowed this PILOT program down to Gold Star Mothers Park in East Cambridge and the Raymond Street park on Avon Hill. The meeting to talk about the Gold Star Mothers park use will be Tuesday, 16 June at 7 PM at the Kennedy-Longfellow School. The Corcoran Park (Raymond Street) meeting will be Wednesday, 25 June at 7 PM at the Graham & Parks School.
While what I've pasted below will give you some relevant background info, the links won't work so you may want to try going to http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/cp/parks/offleash/index.html if you want to learn still more about this PILOT program.
The PILOT program is scheduled to start 1 August.
I know that not everyone is going to be happy about our having picked these two parks, or having picked only two parks, or having picked any parks, or having decided to try morning hours and not evening hours and so forth, but I feel the City really did a respectable job in trying to balance a zillion competing concerns. You'd be amazed, or maybe you wouldn't be, at how many people feel really strongly about all sorts of dog-related issues in Cambridge. Trying to find a suitable compromise, even for a PILOT program, has presented some challenges that I didn't expect. If these PILOT programs work out, we can think about expanding shared use/off leash opportunities, if they're a disaster then maybe we'll have to figure something else out.
Anyway, I hope many of you can come to these meetings to learn more about this PILOT program. Please remember, though, that these meetings are really to discuss how this PILOT program will work, how success will be analyzed, how we'll handle problems with overuse or too much barking or not enough parking or whatever else is a concern, they're not about re-opening a review of what parks should get this PILOT program. If we did that, we'd never try the PILOT program to begin with.
Thanks a lot.
Craig
Off Leash Dog Areas
- What's Happening Now
- Background
- Dedicated Off Leash Areas
- Shared Use Off Leash Areas
- Also of Interest
- For More Information
What's Happening Now
Upcoming community meetings to discuss shared use hours for off leash dogs at Gold Star Mother's (Gore Street) Park and Corcoran (Raymond Street) Park. Gold Star Mother's Park Meeting: Tuesday June 16th, 7:00 P. M., Kennedy-Longfellow School cafeteria, 158 Spring Street. Corcoran Park Meeting: Wednesday June 24th 7:00 P. M., Graham and Parks School cafeteria, 44 Linnaean Street. See the meeting flyer here. This file is in PDF format and requires use of the free Adobe Acrobat viewer.
Background
There has been increased interest expressed by the public in providing legal opportunities for dogs to be off leash in certain City parks and public open spaces, and the City has been working with residents to explore additional opportunities for dogs with their owners to be off leash.
Staff from the Community Development Department, Department of Public Works, City Manager's Office, Historical Commission, Department of Human Services Programs, and the Animal Commission, have been working with City Council members, and a group of residents to come up with strategies to for creating new off leash opportunities for dogs. There are two approaches currently being taken: Dedicated off-leash areas and shared use off leash areas.
Dedicated Off Leash Areas (Commonly Referred to as Dog Runs)
Dedicated off leash spaces are specific areas where the primary use is to allow dog owners to have their dogs off leash. These areas are generally fenced in to avoid potential conflicts with other users or passerby, and facilitate the containment of the dog. In Cambridge, dedicated off leash areas may be a park or part of a park or other public open space.
There is a dedicated off leash area at the Pacific Street Park in the Cambridgeport neighborhood. There is another dedicated off leash area planned for a portion of Danehy Park closest to the New Street parking lot. The process of establishing both of these off leash areas included public meetings with neighbors and park users. Construction of the Danehy Park off leash area is anticipated to begin during spring 2009, and last several weeks.
Shared Use Off Leash Areas
Shared use off leash areas are places where dogs are allowed off leash that are not necessarily separated from other uses and activities. Fresh Pond Reservation (West Cambridge) and Fort Washington Park (Cambridgeport) are two examples of shared use areas in Cambridge.
The City is exploring the idea of establishing additional shared use locations that would be available for off leash dogs during certain times only. Similar shared use programs have been undertaken in other cities where open space is very limited as a reasonable way to accommodate dog owners who desire regular periods of time for legal off leash activity. The initial areas considered for additional shared off leash uses were public open spaces that are not a part of school grounds, children's playgrounds, or heavily used athletic facilities, and by virtue of their layout, would not necessarily require additional fencing or significant physical changes to park grounds. There was also an effort to distribute the potential spaces geographically throughout the City.
In Spring 2008, the City began a series of meetings regarding establishing a Shared Use Pilot Program at five parks throughout the City. These meetings have focused on getting information and feedback from nearby residents, park users and dog owners on the general idea, and also the appropriate times, seasons, locations, and other considerations to take into account for such a program. There have been meetings regarding Gold Star Mother's (Gore Street) Park in East Cambridge, Corcoran (Raymond Street) Park in Neighborhood 9, Clement Morgan (Columbia Street) Park in Area 4, Rafferty Park in the Cambridge Highlands, and Riverside Press Park in the Riverside neighborhood. In Spring 2009, there will be additional meetings regarding the start and initial locations for a Shared Use Pilot program, based on the information that has been gathered. Please check back on this web site for updates and additional information.
No decision about establishing the Pilot Program at any of these parks has been made yet. The information gathered from the public will be used to make recommendations the City Manager and City Council in the near future. Please check back at this web site for updates and additional information.
Click link to Map of Existing, Planned and Potential Off Leash Areas
Also of Interest
* Animal Commission Home Page
For More Information
If you would like to be notified of future meetings or would like more information please contact Taha Jennings at 617/349-4603 or email at
tjennings@cambridgema.gov
. The Community Development Department TTY line is 617/349-4621.>
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