Response to concerns raised in the Swampscott Reporter letter to the editor, dated August 25th
The Board of SPOT, Swampscott Park for Off-Leash Time, would like to acknowledge and address the concerns cited in a recent Swampscott Reporter letter to the editor from local residents.
Proper Notice
Regarding the change in park location, SPOT has appeared before the Selectmen periodically for updates, and the agenda for those meetings are posted on the town website. SPOT was last on the agenda July 26th, and discussed plans to have the Department of Public Works tape out the proposed area so that residents will be able to visualize the future footprint of the park and express concerns. This has not yet been completed.
SPOT’s original park location was indeed planned to be near the former site of Kids’ Cove. SPOT was asked to consider moving its location and was amenable to the change as part of a longer-term Phillips Park renovation plan. No malice or underhanded practices were intended in the change of park location.
Lastly, the information on the location change has been public on our website for several months. The picture on our website of the proposed location may have been confusing, and we have since added clarifying language. The members of the SPOT Board are available to answer questions or discuss concerns, and are easy to reach via our website.
Noise
We recognize and agree that it is beyond annoying to have a dog barking incessantly nearby. We respectfully submit, however, that the frequent whistle blowing, cheering and shouting from the playing fields is likely more noisy than a group of dogs snuffling about will ever be. It is indeed true that dogs do bark, but please consider the following:
- This park will be subject to the same noise ordinances of other Swampscott parks and will operate from dawn to dusk.
- People visiting a park with their dogs generally do not intend to be there the entire morning or afternoon.
- In our visits to other dog parks (Brookline and Salem), we have found that the parks are generally quite quiet, with dogs either sniffing trees, chasing balls, or playing with other dogs.
- Dogs typically bark when frustrated, feeling territorial, or to display aggression. These situations are not applicable to the park.
We are available to go to Salem and videotape a typical morning if that would be helpful.
Parking
We do not anticipate a large increase in traffic in the surrounding area, and for those people who do drive to the park, parking is available within Phillips Park, just as it is for sporting events. We can certainly stress to the dog-owners that they should be responsible in their parking practices. Given the park is open from dawn to dusk, we do not anticipate illegal overnight parking.
The park will have no entrance from Smith Street.
Poor Maintenance & Litter
We empathize over the issue of litter in this area. It must indeed be enraging to find litter on one’s front lawn.
To assume before it has even opened, however, that the park will be poorly maintained seems unfair. Further, we posit that with the area in question, we are actually improving it tenfold.
Currently, that land is nothing but litter. While difficult to see now, because of the summer overgrowth, one need only part aside the poison ivy and tangled underbrush to find cans, wrappers, boxes, condoms, used tires, plastic sheeting…you name it. It’s a blight on our town and when the weeds die down in the fall and winter, it’s even more of an eyesore. We are as agitated about litter as any of the letter writers and feel that particular area constitutes a solid example of what we often see as a general apathy toward litter in our beloved town. Should any of the residents in that area wish to band together and create some sort of non-profit or task force that addresses overall litter problems in our town, we would imagine they would find many supporters, many of them also SPOT supporters and members of the SPOT Board.
Safety
Many dog owners and park supporters are also parents, teachers, and coaches. As noted at our website, one of the reasons we want a dog park is because well socialized dogs create a safer environment for the public at large.
We are opting for a safe place to exercise our dogs, as opposed to dogs using the fields. We would adhere to park safety rules the same as anyone else. We are happy to publish on our website and send to our e-mail distribution specific rules of conduct in the parking lot area if the residents wish to provide those to us.
Thank you for your time in considering our response. We’d like to continue our communications with DPW and get the area taped off so that the neighbors can look at the area. Then we could meet to discuss any concerns at that point. We hope to work together constructively and amiably with the town and with residents to create a park that is an asset to and a source of pride for Swampscott.
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