By Lisa Carolin
There are now officially 77 members of the Chelsea Bark Park Facebook group, which was started in January of this year with the mission “to create a fenced-in, off-leash park where canine citizens and their caretakers can exercise in a clean, safe and suitable environment.”
Members of Chelsea Bark Park held two planning meetings last month during which Cynthia Silveri reviewed the pros and cons of two possible locations for a dog park: Pierce Park and Timbertown.
Pierce Park, which is centrally located in the city, consists of 4.66 acres of both open and natural, wooded/wetland areas along with play structures and a picnic shelter. A dog park would potentially be kept to an acre or less. Pros, according to Silveri, include its accessibility by foot, its highly visibility location, and that a dog park could go on a portion of the park that is underutilized.
Cons include a lack of parking and its proximity to the children’s play area.
Timbertown, located north of downtown, is a 19-acre park with advantages that include more potential space and an already existing fence along the east side of the park, which could be used for a dog park.
Disadvantages include the numerous wooded and wetland areas that would limit an open area for dog play, that the location is outside the city, and conflicts during the summer because of other activities like the historic base ball games as well as its proximity to the children’s play structure.
Silveri states in her report these components of an ideal dog park:
1. Enough space for normal interaction.
2. Secure fencing and gates.
3. Clean-up stations
4. Water and shade.
5. A separate area for small dogs.
Reasons against creating a dog park include the passage of diseases like Bordatella, which can be spread in a dog park setting as well as fleas. Also, not all dogs are properly socialized and bad behavior can lead to injury and fights.
“Dog owners do not always agree on definitions of appropriate or inappropriate dog behavior, which can lead to conflict between humans if such a disagreement occurs,” said Silvieri.
But supporters of the Chelsea Bark Park stress the positive reasons for such a park, which include enhanced exercise for both dogs and their owners, and socialization for dogs and people, too.
