Description
It needs an overhaul it has turned into a dog park. Also what construction are they doing in that park?
also asked...
Q. Which Park? Please provide Park name address
A. tufts
A. tufts
Q. Please select issue
A. Trash
A. Trash
68 Comments
City of Medford (Verified Official)
Mike N - DPW (Registered User)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Concerned city member (Registered User)
Closed Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
As far as making a dog park at other city parks, you could contact the Mayor's Office, your City Councillors or the Parks Department.
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Another Concerned CItizen (Guest)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Concerned city member (Registered User)
Your issues should be with the park poorly lit when not being used as night! The park is extremely dark and there are many teenage and adult kids that use this darkness to do things that can't be seen at night! There use to be benches at that end of the park near the baseball diamond that doesn't get used anymore, do you know why they aren't there anymore? Well cause some of us that let out dogs run in that area complained about the thugs that hung out there smoking marijuana and drinking, the benches aren't there and funny how the thugs are gone too! Every situation has a give and take, and in my opinion you are going over board by complaint about a few over friendly people that are hang out and being cordial to each other! I invite you out to come see what we are up to! I promise no dog will harm you, come see what we are organizing, a park clean up day! Unlike you we don't only complain, we are proactive! Sorry but I am angered by this whole situation!
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Concerned city member (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Another Concerned CItizen (Guest)
Unfortunately, we can't just agree to disagree, since because of you, the vast majority of good dog owners who use the park are being subjected to increased scrutiny and fines from Animal Control. Why? Because not everyone lives up to your standards of what a public park should be (which apparently includes dog-free, a sentiment which just baffles me.) And you know what's the worst part? The ones who are always there, the ones who care about the park, who participate in clean-ups... WE'RE THE ONES BEING AFFECTED. The one-offs who come once every couple weeks, don't clean up after themselves, etc... the likelihood of them being there when the AC officer shows up is low. The teenagers who hang out and leave empty nips all over the place? They're not there until after dark. The softball players who leave cases and cases of empties after nearly every game? This isn't going to do a thing about them. But the people who actually WANT the park to be nice, who clean up, who would do everything in their power to keep aggressive dogs out of the area? No, we're the ones who are going to have to find a new place to take our dogs every single day because you decided that you don't like the way things have been for years.
If your kids don't want to play near the dogs (and let's ignore for a second the fact that there are kids who come to the park just to play WITh the dogs), there are two entire ballfields at the end near the tot lot that the dogs almost never go near. We've mostly isolated ourselves in the back field. If that's not good enough for you, then that should be on you, not us.
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Another Concerned CItizen (Guest)
Concerned city member (Registered User)
Another Concerned CItizen (Guest)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Another concerned responsible dog owner resident (Guest)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Concerned city member (Registered User)
Concerned city member (Registered User)
Another Concerned CItizen (Guest)
You're right, your children shouldn't live in fear to play. And if you're unwilling to teach your children that dogs aren't something to be feared but a normal part of the neighborhood in which they live, and to be co-existed with, then there's a HUGE PARK that the dogs don't generally go anywhere near for them to play in.
As to a fence... You do know that fenced dog parks tend to be MUCH dirtier, smellier, difficult to maintain, etc... right? You're not just deflecting the responsibility for YOUR problem onto other people to then go find a solution? Also, perhaps you have realized that the park is used by other groups who comfortably co-exist with the dog owners, like the high school football team that practices there every fall. That would not be possible if it were to be fenced.
FYI - The mayor's office has been contacted requesting a solution mirroring what Arlington has done, with designated off-leash hours in certain parks.
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Anonymous (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Annon (Registered User)
While a community of off leak dogs has grown at the park despite several signs being posted in and around the park warning about offleash fines, for years. There is 1 sign clearly posted on the pole in the parking lot, 1 on a post along the walkway of Morton Ave., as well as at the Winchester street enterance. The reason the community has been able to grow is because the law and fines have never been enforced in the area.
It's also very ignorant to ask for a special exception to have an area fenced in just for the dogs, when the park is heavily used during the summer by various sports teams, as well as the St. Clement's football team, which uses it on a daily basis from mid August-Thanksgiving.
Also, while a lot of the actual local dog owners, are respective of the leash law, there are several dog walkers coming from outside the neighrhood to run a business from the park. These outsiders have actually been arrogant and disrepective to the locals. Some have even gone as far as to telling locals to avoid the park while they have thier dogs offleah, if they have an issue with them.
Another Concerned CItizen (Guest)
You're right. They haven't been enforced because no one was being harmed by people allowing dogs to play. You seem to think signs are more important than people. How incredibly sad. I would think any person with an iota of humanity would think that sensible application of rules would preclude persecuting people who are doing no harm to anyone. If for no other reason than because it's clearly not the best use of city resources.
Also, you clearly have no idea what the word "ignorant" means. A good example of "ignorant" is saying that people are coming in to run a business out of the park. All of the walkers I have met who use the park are people who live within a few blocks of the park. Or saying that the back field is used by various sports teams during the summer (you're thinking of the main field with the 4 ball fields. Other that St. Clements, the back field remains largely unused by anyone other than the dog owners.
And yes, if you have an issue with dogs playing off-leash, you should go around the park. That's basic common sense. Unless you're so outlandishly self-centered that the only thing that matters is your absolute convenience, without regard to your neighbors, then I suppose complaining about something that has no effect on you and falling back on an appeal to the rules because there's no logical argument to be made against it makes some twisted sort of sense.
Another Concerned CItizen (Guest)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Annon (Registered User)
@Anonymous you tell @lender that they should confront the off lesh owners if they have an issue, when the off lesh dog walkers have become hostile. There is a red beared dog walker who owns a beagle who has told several residents to avoid the park when he is down there with dogs. There is also another dog owner who has a puggle and lives on Newburn Ave, who has actually threatened and harrased my folks (1 of them a constable i might add) after he revieved a fine for an off leash dog.
You also want to criticize @lenders for not cleaning up hypedemic needles?! I don't know what planet your from, but that is something left to someone with propper biohazard training. Not your ordinary citizen.
@another concerned citizen, so you're sayingbbecause the dog walkers are already there and off leash, people should be forced to avoid the park altogether?! That truely is the most ignorant thing i've read in this post. Nobody owns a public park, and nobody should be force to avoid the park if they want to visit it, simply because of off leash dogs. Local residents aren't asking for the off leash dogs to go, just for the dog walkers to obey the laws, so everyone can ejoy the park. Those signs you critizied me for, are there as a preemptive messure for this very reason.
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Annon (Registered User)
I'd also like to add that this isn't just a matter public safety, but also safe for these dogs. A lot of the off leash dog owners don't pay much attention to what their dog is getting into.
You can constantly find dead field mice in and around the area that these off leash dog walkers are using to let their dog run free. Which leads me to beleive someone is putting out mouse/rat poison. My own dog was hospitilized last year with mouse poisoning. Luckily he survied, but it was a costly vet bill.
It's just another reason why this area shouldn't be used as an offleash dog park.
Annon (Registered User)
@landers
I'm pretty sure I know who you are talking about. A young girl with a teacup yorkshire terrier. See her constantly wandering around the park on her cellphone, while her dog runs around, unsupevised. He's been found in several yards in the neighborhood. I've also never seeen her clean up after her dog.
She is a regular too. Which contradicts the several statements above, how it is the infrequent dog walkers who are ruining it for everyone.
ChloeBails (Registered User)
Concerned city member (Registered User)
Anonymous (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Concerned city member (Registered User)
Concerned city member (Registered User)
Medford dog (Registered User)
@annon
So much misinformation. I was there for the incident with your parents and the puggle. They were in no way threatened. In fact they were quite rude. Furthermore you stood there like a lump throughout the whole encounter. Curious behavior for someone who was witnessing his parents supposedly being threatened. Your father also tried to pick a fight with that owner at a later date, even pulling his badge and pretending to be an active officer (a felony).
As for the red bearded beagle owner? He is one of the ones who puts out trash bags in the winter for people to pick up after the dogs and he's the one that organizes park cleanups with the dog owners.
When you don't get along with anybody, the problem isn't with everybody....
The reality of the situation is that until the coyote situation is resolved owners probably wouldn't want their dogs off leash anyway.
Annon (Registered User)
@Medford dog
You claim they were rude, would you honestly expect someone to be be nice after having someone, out of the blue, get in your face and start harassing you over getting a fine for having an off leash dog and threatening to to get the group of dog walkers and come to house, because for some reason he assumed we where the ones who called animal control?! You claim to have heard the whole conversation, but that must have been hard standing 30 ft away on the opposite side of the street. You also claim I was just standing around. I was actually restraining my dog who was clearly agitated from being confronted by Jon, who made a bee line from the park across the street to confront us.
And despite what you and your group of dog walkers may think about me and my folks, they haven't called or made a complain with Animal control in over 5 years, because the city reused to do anything to begin with. So this stepped up presence, over the past year or so is clearly from other complains that must have come in over your group.
But please continue to try and take the high road and ignore or outright dismiss any number of the legitimate issues me and others have raised above.
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
South Medford Resident (Registered User)
Annon. My user name is my real name. I live on Bow St. I am the red bearded man with the basset hound. I have tried to be respectful to you and your family. I leash my dog, Daisy, every time I see you, and I ask all the others to do the same. I have never told anyone to not use the park when I am there. I apologize for any offense that you and your family feel that I made towards you. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome to use their own neighborhood park. This conflict that we are having is breaking my heart. I wish you and your family the best.
Landers, you seem like a very reasonable person. I happily invite you participate in our clean up day. It is complicated to schedule a day and time that is best for everyone. We want a large turnout. It will be either this weekend or next. A few years ago, we had over 20 volunteers and removed every piece of trash we could find from the rear section of the park. Broken glass, empty alcohol bottles, syringes, herion bags, used condoms etc. We filled14 33 gallon bags of human litter. We only found 3 piles of dog waste.
I will post to this forum when we finalize a date and time that is best. Please let us all be civil. If a compromise is in order, I will support it.
Notateacup (Guest)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
South Medford Resident (Registered User)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)
Tyler (Registered User)
Patrick Hogan - ACO (Verified Official)