One Person Really Can Make a Difference
The Ann Arbor guide to getting a project — e.g., a playground and basketball court proposed for some existing parkland (D-14) — postponed, as illustrated at Monday night’s City Council meeting:
- Express concern that “the neighbors” weren’t adequately informed about it. Even if many public hearings have already been held, there’s no such thing as too much neighborhood input.
- Ask if trees are going to be removed to build it. No? Well, it was worth a try.
- Point out that there are other such projects in the city.
- Appeal to A2 narcissism. Surely in this “innovative” town, this “Tree City,” we can find something else to do with the site. Don’t suggest any actual ideas; that’ll just confuse things.
Result: postponed until yet another community meeting can be scheduled. Perhaps a fairy dog breastfeeding park would be a better use of the site.
FYI for people who really would like the deuce to be more dog friendly - Thursday there will be a public meeting about the possible construction of a dog park (sadly no fairies or breastfeeding included in this one). The proposed park would be on the site of the landfill at Platt and Elsworth so very few trees or neighbors to complain. But the city still seems to need some encouragement to catch up with Saline.
Bryant School
posted by dcwp on June 6th, 2006 at 10:23 am7:00 PM
Thursday
Don’t tell the PETA people about a dog walk on a landfill. Methane emissions from such a site can be harmful to our Canine friends!
posted by PondComet on June 6th, 2006 at 11:22 amOn another note, some poor animals have wounded themselves on the stumps of all the Ash tree’s that have been removed recently. They should sand down all of these dangerous stumps so hapless dogs don’t get genital trauma.
Smoothly sanded ash tree stumps and a treasure heap buried under the new dog park? I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself @_@ Of course if it were up to us canines, we’d call you crazy bipeds “dinner,” but I’m not one to bite the hand that feeds me…for now we wait patiently…Arf!
posted by King Arfur on June 6th, 2006 at 3:07 pmDude,
posted by .:DataWhat?:. on June 6th, 2006 at 9:38 pmDog breastfeeding sounds gross!
Not in my park you don’t.
Great, great, great entry. I was about to laugh, but then realized how entirely true it is.
I think this blog’s beginning to touch the Daily Show as of late - i.e. no joke is really necessary when reality gets so ridicuously ludicrous.
posted by Anonymous on June 7th, 2006 at 4:31 pmHmmm … isn’t there already a dog-owner gathering every Saturday at Slauson?
Why a separate park?
Besides, who’s going to drive out to Ellsworth and Platt to run their dog unless they already live on that side of town…?
(add negative thoughts here…)
posted by Daniel on June 8th, 2006 at 9:58 amFirst the dog-owner gathering on Saturdays is technically illegal. All of those people are liable for fines up to $500 if the city ever decided to crack down. I personally don’t like feeling like a fugitive because I want to play Frisbee with my dog.
Second, there is no fence or other enclosure at Slauson ensuring that dogs don’t run away and get hit by cars or alternately that strays run in and cause fights.
Third, that is a gathering that happens a couple of hours a week. Not every dog owner can make that time and most of us would like to be able to excercise our dogs multiple times per week and preferably whenever we feel like it.
Fourth, shocking as it may be there are plenty of people in Ann Arbor who don’t live in the OWS. Right now the closest legal dog park is in Saline so driving to Platt and Ellsworth will seem relatively short. But since you bring it up, maybe it would make sense for the city to build small dog play areas in multiple parks spread across the city so that each neighborhood can have one. Good idea.
Really all a dog park requires is a couple hundred feet of chainlink fence and a trash can. Compared to other facilities that the parks department maintains it is ultra-cheap. Given the number of people with dogs in Ann Arbor and the fact that dog parks get used almost every day of the year, it seems reasonable to me that the city should have at least one facility where dogs playing off leash is legal and safe. And why not a few?
For example, the city maintains 63 tennis courts spread across town. That’s great since there are a lot of tennis players all over AA. But realistically you can only play tennis for about eight months out of the year and you still wouldn’t say that one tennis court available for one day a week is enough for the city.
I honestly don’t understand the resistance to providing a facility for dogs in this town. It is relatively inexpensive, desired, safe, and would add value to neighborhoods.
posted by dcwp on June 8th, 2006 at 10:15 amWe already have dog parks. They are called the k-12 public school yards!
posted by PondComet on June 8th, 2006 at 1:53 pmI’m sure that the first dog park in the city will be overrun morning noon and night with users. Congressional Cemetery in DC sells dog park “memberships” for something like 1500 dollars a year, meaning your dog can piss on J Edgar Hoover’s grave daily.
posted by Dale on June 8th, 2006 at 5:21 pmFrom an earlier comment above:
“I think this blog’s beginning to touch the Daily Show as of late — i.e. no joke is really necessary when reality gets so ridicuously ludicrous.”
A comment from about the time J. Edgar died:
“Political satire became obsolete [back] when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”
posted by hale on June 8th, 2006 at 6:30 pm– attributed to satirist Tom Lehrer