The Beecher Street dog park, with the wooden fence that is slated to be removed and replaced with a City-approved fence.
Gazette Photo by Peter Shanley
The Boston Parks and Recreation Department (BPRD) is finalizing plans to replace the existing fence at the Beecher Street Park, which is used as an unofficial dog park, within the next few weeks, according to a City spokesperson.
Local residents erected a fence at the outer border of Beecher Street Park, which is City-owned land, to contain dogs so they can use the park off-leash. The park also has a community garden that is separate from where the dogs frolic. The fence, which was erected without City approval, does not meet the requirements of the City for safety reasons.
The fence continues to stand today, and BPRD will replace the fence with a City-approved one by the end of June or the beginning of July, according to Ryan Woods, spokesperson for BPRD. The company that will build the fence has been contacted, and the City agency is waiting for the company to get back to them about what day it will be built. The double-gate will not be replaced and will remain at the park.
Woods said that he will inform all residents that signed an email list from the initial community meeting about the park about which day the park will go offline for the installation.
Woods also said that BPRD has received several more complaints about the dog park since the weather has become warmer.
“One complaint we received was from an abutter who is a dog owner who no longer uses the park,” Woods said. “He cannot open his windows or have guests over to sit on the porch in the summertime [because of the smell of dog waste].”
City Councilor Matt O’Malley has met with some abutters recently who had some concerns regarding the park, according to Liz Sullivan, O’Malley’s chief of staff.
“He hears and understands their concerns and hopes to find some consensus and a solution that works for everyone,” Sullivan said.
The search for a new dog park has led to no biscuit. BPRD doesn’t own any other land in Jamaica Plain, but can act as a middle-man if someone else who owns property wants to designate it as a dog park.
“If we were looking for a location for a dog park, we wouldn’t choose this area because of how densely populated the area is,” Woods said, and added that no particular site looks promising.