Scopion sighted on Community Path Yesterday

It's probably dead by now, but there was a post to the SomervilleMoms Yahoo! Group yesterday afternoon by someone who encountered a "rather large" scorpion on the Community Pathnear Lexington Park.

Community Meeting on proposed Community Path Park and Extension

via e-mail

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 5 Alderman Sean O’Donovan, and Director of Parks and Open Space Arn Franzen invite all interested individuals to a community meeting on Wednesday, October 10th at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the environmental clean-up and construction plans for the proposed Community Path Park and Community Path extension, which lies between Central and Woodbine Streets. The meeting will be held in the community room of the Visiting Nurses Association, 259 Lowell Street, to discuss and receive comments on the park design, cleanup alternatives and the cleanup activities that will be conducted at the site. The preliminary park design report will be available for review and comment beginning October 4th, by contacting Stephen Winslow in the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development at 617-625-6600, ext. 2519.

All Dogs Must Be On A Leash

It's wonderful when we all cooperate to make the Path a great place for the whole Community.

By observing the leash law, responsible dog owners are helping to ensure that everyone has a safe and enjoyable experience on the Community Path.

Sean O'Donovan, the Alderman for Ward Five, is also helping to ensure that everyone has a safe and enjoyable experience on the Path. For tonight's meeting of the Board of Aldermen he has submitted an order

That the Chief of Police assign an officer to enforce the leash law on the bike path between Lexington Park and Willow Ave. between 6-8 AM and 4:30-6 PM, and report back to this Board with enforcement results before the next Board meeting. (2nd request)

Potluck in the Park

The Friends of Lexington Park Playground host a potluck dinner, Friday evenings (weather permitting), at Lexington Park Playground (dog|map). Everyone is welcome to attend, meet new neighbors, make friends, and enjoy the park with some very good food. Food/beverage contributions are appreciated.

To learn more about the weekly potluch dinners and what’s happening at Lexington Park, join the on-line discussion forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexingtonpark/.

Download flyer (.doc file).

Letters from the Community Path

There are two letters in the Somerville Journal today from residents who attended the community meeting about safe and legal recrecreational options on the Community Path for park users with dogs. Seven residents—from Highland Road, Morrison Avenue, Willow Avenue and Winter Street—wrote a letter thanking neighbors and elected officials for the opportunity to come together to discuss open space options that serve the many and diverse needs of all residents (Letter: Thank you for being part of solution). A Pinkney Street resident commended the community efforts that resulted in the successful designation of a fenced-in off-leash recreational area at Nunziato Field and that continue to seek appropriate locations for similar areas in other parts of the City (Letter: Private fund raising key at dog park).

Letter misrepresents the Community Meeting

A long letter to the editor of the Somerville Journal today fails to understand that the proposal for possible sites for off-leash recreational areas along the Community Path was presented to the community by the City's Dog Owners Task Force in cooperation with the Mayor's Office for Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD), in response to an order that came from the Board of Alderman, initially proposed by the Ward Five Alderman, Sean O'Donovan, "that the Director of SPCD evaluate the placement of a dog run in the bike path area of Ward 5."

Of course, the Somerville Dog Owners Group supports the City's proposal and is delighted to be working with the community for open spaces that serve the many and diverse recreational needs of all residents.

The letter also fails to understand section 12-51 of the Municipal Ordinances, pertaining to Dogs in Parks and Playgrounds. Dogs are not allowed in city parks and playgrounds that have been posted "No Dogs Allowed" by the Commissioner of Public Works. The current Administration is re-evaluating open spaces in the city to ensure that the restrictions against leashed dogs more accurately reflect the realities of the way residents use open space and the ways that the ordinance is enforced. Specifically, at the Community Meeting on May 16, Carlene Campbell, Community Outreach Director for the Mayor's Office for Strategic Planning and Community Development told the community that the City has ordered new signs to replace the “No Dogs Allowed” signs on the Path. The new signs will advise Path users that dogs must be leashed and handlers must clean up after their dogs.

A lot of people—residents, city employees, Mayor Joe Curtatone, Ward Five Alderman Sean O'Donovan, and Ward Six Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz among them—have cooperated on the proposal for fenced-in off-leash recreational areas to serve Community Path neighbors and users. It's a shame that these efforts were so grossly misrepresented in the letter to the editor of the Somerville Journal today.

Article in the Somerville Journal

The open space needs of the people of Somerville are many and diverse.

Reporter, Auditi Guha spoke with Community Path users about fenced-in areas where people may socialize and exercise our dogs off-leash. Her article, "Dog parks eyed at Community Path," ran in the Somerville Journal on May 18, 2006.

The City's first off-leash recreational area opened on April 9 in Nunziato Field: today more people than ever enjoy this park on Summer Street, near Union Square.

Come to the Community Meeting Tuesday!

If you care about off-leash recreation in Somerville, you must participate now! If you can, come to the Community Meeting, Tuesday evening, May 16. If you cannot come to the meeting, please write to your Alderman in support of off-leash recreation on the Community Path and cc the Dog Owners Task Force (for contact information, click on the link below to continue reading).

At the Community Meeting the Dog Owners Task Force will present for discussion a proposal for fenced-in areas where Community Path neighbors may enjoy safe and legal recreation with our dogs off-leash. The meeting is Tuesday evening, May 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 at the VNA (Visiting Nurses Association), 259 Lowell Street, in the third floor Community Room.

A fenced-in area where neighbors can safely and legally allow their dogs off leash will benefit not only dog owners, who presently have no place in the community to take their dogs; it will benefit everyone who enjoys the Community Path:

• A fenced-in off-leash area will enable people to keep their dogs away from other Path users who may be fearful of dogs;
• It will facilitate the enforcement of the City's leash law and allow people to enjoy the Path without interference from unleashed dogs;
• Off-leash Recreational Areas (OLRAs) promote responsible dog ownership:
• Especially when outfitted with "pooper-scooper" stations, OLRAs promote hygienic behavior within the community of dog owners: Both the fenced-in area and the entire Community Path will be cleaner;
• The presence of dogs along with their owners in the area will help to deter crime in the area itself, along the Path, and in the surrounding neighborhood.

Since Somerville's first OLRA opened on April 9 in Nunziato Field, people from all Somerville's seven wards have been coming to the park on Summer Street and Putman Street, just outside Union Square. It's really not fair—not to residents of the Nunziato Field neighborhood, nor to residents of other Somerville neighborhoods—that the owners of Somerville's 18,000 dogs must share one 9,000 square foot area to enjoy legal recreation. In the first place, not everyone has a car, and not everyone has the physical ability or the time to walk up to two miles to go to a park. Moreover, the streets around Nunziato Field cannot accommodate the cars of the owners of Somerville's 18,000 dogs.

It is important that not only neighborhood residents, but everyone who is committed to open spaces that serve the recreational needs of all residents attend the Community Meeting about proposed off-leash recreational areas on the Community Path. If residents from the Community Path neighborhood had not come to the community meetings and supported the proposal for Somerville's first off-leash recreational area (OLRA), there would be no place in the City where residents may safely and legally enjoy open space with our dogs off leash. The goal of the Somerville Dog Owners Group as well as the Dog Owners Task Force and our elected representatives is off-leash recreational areas in walking distance to all residents.

Renovation of the Lexington Park Basketball Courts

A community meeting to discuss the renovation of the Lexington Park basketball courts has been scheduled for Monday evening, May 15, from 6:00 to 8:00, at the Lexington Park basketball courts. In case of rain the meeting will be held at the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA), 259 Lowell Street in the third floor community room.

Development and the Path Extension

Everyone who is interested in open space and the impact of development on the extension of Somerville's Community Path is encouraged to come to a community meeting, Tuesday evening, March 7, at 6:30 at the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) Assisted Living Center, 259 Lowell Street (map).

Ward Five Alderman, Sean O'Donovan, has scheduled the meeting so that members of the community may come together to discuss traffic mitigation as well as other neighborhood concerns regarding the proposed Maxpak Site Development.

The Community Path Extension at Warwick Street has potential as a site for a fenced-in off-leash recreational area. A fenced-in area where neighbors can safely and legally allow their dogs off leash will benefit not only dog owners in the community, who presently have no place to take their dogs; it will benefit everyone who enjoys the Community Path:

• A fenced-in off-leash area will enable people to keep their dogs away from other Path users who may be fearful of dogs;
• It will facilitate the enforcement of the City's leash law and allow people to enjoy the Path without interference from unleashed dogs;
• Off-leash Recreational Areas (OLRAs) promote responsible dog ownership:
• Especially when outfitted with "pooper-scooper" stations, OLRAs promote hygienic behavior within the community of dog owners: Both the fenced-in area and the entire Community Path will be cleaner;
• The presence of dogs, along with their owners, in the area will help to deter crime, both in the area itself and in the surrounding neighborhood.

For the safety and enjoyment of all path users, the Community Path Extension should be undertaken with a plan to address the needs of dog owners with an adequate area for off-leash recreation, facilities for waste removal, and signage advising people that they must leash and clean up after their dogs on the Community Path.

Proposed Locations for OLRAs

The March 9th Dog Owners Task Force Meeting will feature a presentation of possible off-leash recreation areas along the Community Path and in near-by locations. In order to present the strongest case for the most suitable location, we are collecting community input for each of the proposed locations. Please visit the Community Path Forum and leave your opinion on each potential OLRA site.

Other ways to help: Please be sure to contact your alderman (listed above) to express your support for a safe, fenced area near the community path. If you know any non-dog owners, especially parents, who would be supportive of a fenced area for dogs, please encourage them to also contact their alderman.

Planning for a Dog-friendly Path

Commissioner of Public Works, Stan Koty, will be speaking at the Dog Owners Task Force Meeting on February 9 about possible sites for off-leash recreational areas (OLRAs) in Ward 5, the Community Path neighborhood from Lexington Park to Central Street, as well as in Ward One (East Somerville).

The Dog Owners Task Force meets in City Hall in the third floor conference room. For more information contact Carlene Campbell at (617) 625-6600 x2517, or ccampbell at ci.somerville.ma.us.