Bloomington needs a dog park

I know, there are probably bigger issues in the world today to be concerned with. It's just that, if I'm going to be forced to "donate" to a cause I don't believe in, I had better get my chance to effect change!

Here's a letter I wrote to my City Alderman:

Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 10:00 AM
To: ward 7 alderman [redacted]
Subject: City of Bloomington Dog Park?

Steven,

I read the recent [redacted] article regarding the [redacted] intent to create a second dog park with great interest.

Living in the heart of Bloomington just a mile from [redacted] Park, it would be extremely convenient to have a place to bring my dog where she could run off leash. I've made a few trips over to the park, hearing that it was sort of an unofficial dog park, where responsible owners with well-behaved dogs could go to enjoy some green space. On about my 3rd or 4th trip over, I was cited with a $50 ticket for an ordinance violation of the leash law. The ticket was given to me on a Wednesday morning at approximately 8:30 am. The whole of [redacted] Park was occupied with just 2 bird watchers, another owner and their dog, and a Park Policeman. Not even a slight rain was enough to deter this policeman from doing his duty. How frustrating!

The policeman tried to help me understand why he was issuing a ticket . . .apparently, some local residents had complained that dogs were running off their leashes. Possibly that an off-leash dog approached a baby stroller and scared the parent. This is an understandable concern. But why not attempt to issue tickets during the hours of 4 pm to 6 pm, when the problem likely occurred -- and when the park is crowded with kids practicing football with their families watching? This is the time that would seem to present the greatest danger!

If a citizen can't go to a city park on off hours in the rain with his 5-month old puppy, what other options are there? I suppose I could drive up to [redacted] Park in [redacted], but I don't pay [redacted] taxes, I'm not a resident of [redacted], and on a weekday work day, another 10 minutes of driving each way truly makes a difference.

Is there anything you can to do convince the Council to revisit this issue? Or how about even setting aside morning hours permitting dogs off-leash access to city parks? Surely, if the [redacted] can make plans to create a second park, obstacles like public support and liability insurance costs must be small ones to overcome.

Please let me know if there's anything I can do to assist you in this effort.

Regards,

[salutation redacted]

Enc:

Sources showing benefits of dog parks:
http://gazette.cyberrails.net/Archives.asp?A=109
http://www.watsondogpark.org/whatsADogPark
http://www.trumbulldogpark.com
http://www.tredyffrin.org/pdf/community/complete-prosp.pdf
http://www.seacoastonline.com/2004news/yorkstar/ys5_13b.htm