April 2008
ATTENTION NEIGHBORS!
NEW RULES IN CRISPUS
ATTUCKS PARK – “DOG FREE” AND “DOG FRIENDLY” ZONES!
The
in the park. After hearing
from neighbors, and after much debate, discussion and research, the Park Board
has developed a plan
that will allow for both:
1) “Dog Free” areas, where kids and adults can enjoy
the park free of worry of dogs and dog waste
2) “Dog Friendly” areas, where anyone
is welcome, and where dog owners can walk their dogs, on leash, through the park.
The next few months will
be a trial run, to see if this arrangement works and to modify the plan if
necessary. If all goes well, we will replace the temporary fencing with shrubs
and plants.
Now we need YOUR help to
make this a success! In the next few weeks, we will be adding new signage and low
temporary fencing to clearly mark the areas where dogs are not allowed. Please
look for your neighbors out in the park over the coming weekends and come out
to lend a hand. If possible, please also consider donating money toward the
costs of the signs, fencing, and border shrubs. And if you’re on email, watch
your inbox!
Please help ensure that
Make your tax-deductible contribution to: Crispus Attucks Development
Corporation (CADC),
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q: Why
not just make the whole park off-limits to dogs? A: Dog owners are part of our
community too. And while it is true that the park currently has a problem with
dog waste, it is also true that the largest single group of users of the park
are responsible dog owners who do pick up after their dogs. Many also pick up
trash they see in the park while they’re at it. But there are also some
practical reasons: (1) Safety: Dog owners have for some time now been
the “eyes and ears” of the park. That’s because dogs always need walking, even
when many humans would rather avoid the cold or heat or rain. It is a principle
of urban design that a well-used space is a safe space. The more the park gets
used – including by responsible dog owners – the safer a place it is for all of
us. (2) Enforcement: The Park Board believes that the chances of having
a space free of dogs and dog waste are much greater if we also provide a place
where dogs can go. It is much easier to ask a dog owner to please stay within
the dog-friendly areas than it is to tell a dog owner that they are not welcome
in the park.
Q: Why
do we need an area that’s completely off-limits to dogs? A: Right now there is so much dog
waste in the park that many people avoid the park. The presence of dog waste in
the park makes many activities -- including possible planned activities such as
movie nights or other community gatherings -- unattractive to many. Many
parents, especially those with young children, are concerned that the waste
(and even its residue after it’s removed) spreads disease. Based on input from
the community – in particular those living directly on the park – it was
decided that the best chance of eliminating dog waste from a part of the park
was to make it completely dog-free.
Q: Why
are we devoting so much of the park to dogs? Do we really need to cut into the
Great Lawn by having a path along the
Q: Why
can’t we just allow dogs off-leash at certain hours,
for example in early morning hours when children aren’t around? A: DC law requires dogs to be
leashed on public property. While the park is private property, the alleys
surrounding the park are public property, and the park is not fenced to contain
dogs that are off leash. The Park Board simply cannot take the legal risk of
instituting an official rule that is potentially at odds with DC law and that
could create a liability for the board.
Q: In recent years, dogs have run off-leash and dog-owners are
not always picking up their dogs’ waste. How will this new arrangement change
this behavior? A:
Right now many people have their dogs off leash in the park because the design
of the space promotes that use, and there is not a clear and consistent message
(through signage and layout) that this is prohibited throughout the park.
Similarly, some people are not picking up after their dogs because they have
the sense that this is okay to do in the middle of the park. We strongly
believe that the new signage and temporary fencing will go a long way towards
reducing off-leash use. But of course it won’t be enough, and we know the
results won’t be immediate or perfect. It will take all of us to reinforce the
rules. If you yourself don’t feel comfortable talking to a dog owner who isn’t
picking up or who is using the dog-free zone, the 5th District
Police encourage all of us to call them (really!). In addition, the DC Health
Department is engaged and has offered to visit the park regularly and enforce
the waste removal laws. If, within the next couple months, it is apparent that
this new arrangement is not working, then we will have to consider other
options.
Q: Why
are we designating a space for dogs instead of a playground for children? A: One of the primary reasons for
this new arrangement is to reclaim a majority of the park for kids and, more
generally, for a wider variety of uses than the park currently allows.
Installing a tot lot for children is a separate issue with its own set of
challenges. There is a parents group looking into the possibility of getting a
play set for
Q: The park is so large. Why can’t it accommodate a small fenced
dog run? A: The
possibility of having a small fenced dog run in the park has been raised
numerous times with the community, with the homeowners around the park, and
with the Park Board in particular, and has been met with strong opposition for
a variety of reasons. As with any proposed amenity for the park (whether a tot
lot, a dog run, or something else), the concerns of the people who live
directly adjacent to the park must be weighed very heavily, because they will
be affected most directly and materially. In the case of a dog run, support
from neighborhood dog owners (which was not broad; many found a small dog run
useless for their large-breed dogs) could not overcome the legitimate concerns
of homeowners.
Q: Won’t
all the grass along the narrow path along the
Q: The
turf on the “Great Lawn” is not designed for sustained active use, as athletic
fields are. Won’t the grass on the “Great Lawn” die once kids start playing on
it regularly, as has always happened in the past? A: We now have a professionally
installed irrigation system throughout the park. This will help the grass
recover from use during the hot summer months. But it is true that the Great
Lawn lacks adequate drainage, and will probably suffer if overused. This is why
it will be critically important that neighbors donate their time or money to
keep the grass cut regularly (this promotes the health of the lawn), help
fertilize, etc.
Q: Won’t
the area at the west end become a de facto dog park, covered in dog waste and
used for off-leash play? A: Because this area is wider than the path along the
Q: How
can I help? A: See
other side.