This is how a city of 8 million people handles this issue: Off Leash Dog Hours

Take a look at how Central Park handles this issue (image). Coming from an animal rights perspective, I believe dogs are cooped up and need to run for health and happiness. Humans control enough spaces.

Hello Marjorie Dursley,

Off-leash dog hours sound great, and it obviously works well in New York's Central Park; however, it would be quite difficult here. Central Park is 843 acres while Edgerton Park is only 23 acres. Other than Edgerton Park's smaller size, I suspect too many residents would strongly oppose off-leash hours.

Personally, I believe off-leash hours would be great for the dogs and their owners. I'm old enough to have grown up when many neighborhood dogs lived outside and were hardly ever leashed. Sure, I got attacked and bitten a few times, but that was before anyone would even think about suing a neighbor for a dog bite.

These days, the fear of liability has taken precedence over what used to be freedom. The average insurance payout for a dog bite in 2022 was more than $64,000.

Yes, but the population of Manhattan around Central Park is at least 100x the population of East Rock. 23 acres is actually a lot of space per user in this community. Regarding lawsuits, it is the Owner of the dog that is sued, not the city, from what I understand. And in any case, very few people use the park between 6am - 9am (hypothetical off leash hours). It is empty except for dog walkers, especially in winter.

Perhaps we should talk about how that city of 8 million people fines individuals who ignore the leash law.

What is everyone's justification for simply ignoring the law in Edgerton and East Rock Parks?

A dedicated space sounds like a good idea, whether it is just the meadow or a larger area of one of the parks. Would the Parks Department kindly comment? Or is there some other element of city government that can help tackle this irritatingly recurring issue?

This issue was recategorized from Parks Request to Long Term Infrastructure Project.