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.