Online Petition for a Jamaica Plain Off-Leash Dog Park Gathering Support

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One of the many dogs on hand at the Jamaica Plain Music Festival, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015.

Chris Helms

One of the many dogs on hand at the Jamaica Plain Music Festival, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015.

Public support for a dog park in Jamaica Plain has gain steamed this week thanks to a MoveOn.org petition. The movement for a dog park was jumpstarted earlier this month after Boston's Park and Recreation Department said the Beecher Street Park would no longer be an off-leash dog park.

Eva Kaniasty started the petition, which will be delivered to several local and state representatives, including District 6 City Councilor Matt O’Malley, who has requested a public meeting with the Department of Conservation and Recreation to discuss creating a dog park in JP.  Once the petition reaches 300 signatures, it will also be delivered to DCR Commissioner Leo Roy, the MassParks Paws Program, Board President of the Franklin Park Coalition Anita Morson-Matr, and Southwest Corridor Park Conservancy President Franco Campanello.

The petition had close to 250 signatures as of Monday night only a few days after its creation.

The petition calls for a city- or state-run dog park in JP, as there are none currently, despite hundreds of dog households.

The petition reads: "Self-managed attempts to create dog parks within dense residential areas such as Minton Stable Gardens and most recently at Beecher St. have failed, largely due to abutter complaints. This leaves dog owners with few options to exercise their dogs."

And the petition characterizes neighboring Brookline as being more friendly to dogs,  "By contrast, nearby Brookline currently administers the Green Dog program, which offers a number of recreation options for dog owners. The City of Boston overall lags behind the national trend for the creation of large numbers of dog parks."

Numerous signees have left supportive comments explaining why they want an off-leash dog park in JP.

"This is a smart response to the recent closure of the Beecher St dog park. there is plenty of local parkland that could serve this purpose well," said Ava Cheloff of JP.

"JP needs an off-leash dog park. The ideal place would be the Southeast Corridor Park which is centrally located, not close to any homes and seems to have space available," said Pia Barth.

"Please find a suitable space for dog owners to exercise their dogs in JP. Beecher street dog park was the main reason we choose to live in JP and now we don't know what to do," said Nicole Biller.

You can sign the petition by clicking on the link below:

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