Zoe wrote:I'm sick of people who tar everyone with the same brush. I see children behaving badly, shall we ban them all too? I pay tax and get to use a park for my children or dogs, as does everyone else. A little consideration is all that is required for everyone to get along.
ChloeB wrote:In response to the critiques of the dogs being off the lead in Mint Street park. Yes, as a very local dog owner we do let our dogs exercise in the park and the majority of us are very considerate and pick up after our dogs. One of the main reasons we do use the park as there is so little local space to exercise them. I do believe we can use the space in harmony.
For children, besides Mint Street walled playground (where dogs are not allowed), there is Little Dorrit park which is both large, has a children's playground and furthermore which dogs are not permitted in. On the left of the park is a small dog park and although used for smaller dogs, it really isn't fit for larger ones. This is one of the reasons why Mint Street is ideal. You can throw balls and play with sticks etc. As much as I always have dog bags on me to clean up mess, we can not control where dogs take a pee regardless of if if they are on a leash or not.
If the concerned parent is worried about local pets in the area, I would suggest that Little Dorrit is a good area to also utilize. Most of the local dog owners who use Mint Street would love to introduce their dogs to the kids. Indeed most of the local kids know and are familiar with them and pose no danger. I do believe we can all use the park in harmony which is why I suggested CCTV to help discourage anti-social behaviour (including those inconsiderate owners who do not pick up and give the rest of us a bad name).
BoroughResident wrote:ChloeB wrote:In response to the critiques of the dogs being off the lead in Mint Street park. Yes, as a very local dog owner we do let our dogs exercise in the park and the majority of us are very considerate and pick up after our dogs. One of the main reasons we do use the park as there is so little local space to exercise them. I do believe we can use the space in harmony.
For children, besides Mint Street walled playground (where dogs are not allowed), there is Little Dorrit park which is both large, has a children's playground and furthermore which dogs are not permitted in. On the left of the park is a small dog park and although used for smaller dogs, it really isn't fit for larger ones. This is one of the reasons why Mint Street is ideal. You can throw balls and play with sticks etc. As much as I always have dog bags on me to clean up mess, we can not control where dogs take a pee regardless of if if they are on a leash or not.
If the concerned parent is worried about local pets in the area, I would suggest that Little Dorrit is a good area to also utilize. Most of the local dog owners who use Mint Street would love to introduce their dogs to the kids. Indeed most of the local kids know and are familiar with them and pose no danger. I do believe we can all use the park in harmony which is why I suggested CCTV to help discourage anti-social behaviour (including those inconsiderate owners who do not pick up and give the rest of us a bad name).
While I am really annoyed by parents, kids or others leaving their mess/rubbish behind (that unfortunately happens too often). I do not think we can put dogs at the same level as human beings, especially kids. You cannot precisely control where dogs pee and poo. In view of the size of MSP and the number of dogs visiting, it is filthy as hell (and this regardless dogs owners clean after number 2s). There are too few parks in SE1 to have them spoiled by dogs. These parks are also for adults that would like to sit on dog fluids-free areas whithout necessarily going to Little Dorrit.
And yes, unleashed dogs are dangerous (and not only to kids), especially the kind of dogs we see in the area. I would not describe the wounds of a person I know that was attacked by a dog while jogging in a London park, or the deep scar on the face of a kid I know that was attacked by a lovely harmless family dog. The steep increase of dog attacks in London from last year is really worrying (+76%). Speaking to a few dog owners recently, I do not feel many are aware of the harm their innocent lovely dog could cause to people.
Banning access to dogs in MSP would make sense for both hygienic and safety reasons.
MarcoC wrote:I hope the £400,000 figure was a mistake. If that's true then it's a complete waste of public money. I didn't see anything wrong with the old park and in fact I think it looked better than the new one (like many others I hate the runway in the middle).
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