NYC Style Dog Runs in City Parks to help children can play safely and dogs can have designated space for exercise..

In city parks children currently have a very small designated play area surrounded by fencing whilst the remainder of the park is free for dogs to be exercised off their leads. Surely this should be the other way around!

The current arrangements create problems for small children and families who would like to use the rest of the park grounds but are deterred buy concerns about potentially dangerous animals walking without a lead and also by dog fouling.

In NYC, dogs are only permitted to be off leads in designated areas called "dog runs" which allows children and dogs to coexist safely (see http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/dogareas). This could be implemented in Bristol beginning with the largest and most family orientated parks eg. St George's Park, Victoria Park, Oldbury Court Park. Some investment would be needed to install fencing for the dog runs and also to educate the public about the new arrangements but I think the impact on improving the safety of parks for children would be worth the relatively modest investment.

Why the contribution is important

Families and children are currently unable to use the beautiful parks in Bristol safely due to concerns about dog fouling and dangerous animals being exercised in leads. Our current arrangements allow dogs to use the majority of the park whilst children have only a small designated play area. Changing these arrangements to allow our children more space to play safely and enjoy our parks more fully would improve quality of life for families and young people immensely. NYC already has a system in place which offers a blueprint for Bristol.

by user272559 on November 28, 2013 at 12:36PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.2
Based on: 10 votes

Comments

  • Posted by user251846 November 29, 2013 at 11:23

    Excellent idea. Should not be TOO expensive to implement, and will have benefits for dog owners and other users of green spaces. Could be 'policed' by the park keepers, if we have any, if we haven't, we should.

  • Posted by user338616 November 29, 2013 at 11:48

    Absolutely spot on, i have two small children and often thought that there was something not quite right regarding priorities here.Brilliant

  • Posted by user338616 December 15, 2013 at 13:16

    Best idea by far,hope this gets some attentions

  • Posted by user515911 December 16, 2013 at 23:06

    In my view, it would be lovely to be able to go jogging without fear of dog attack. (Mind you, I may be unusually timid, because I have ended up in hospital as a result of a dog attack, which I appreciate is not a standard experience.) In general, I like dogs, but many of them do not make a good mix with small children or joggers. This idea sounds like it might be a good compromise.
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