City officials seek community input on dog-friendly parks
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINIO@STARADVERTISER.COM
The Department of Parks and Recreation is proposing a “comprehensive change” by allowing more leashed dogs into more city parks to recognize the important role pets play in the lives of park users.
Want more dog-friendly city parks on Oahu?
The Department of Parks and Recreation today announced an initiative to do just that — make more city parks accessible to responsible dog owners and their on-leash dogs. DPR is seeking community input on the initiative through Oahu’s neighborhood boards over the summer.
According to DPR, there are currently 308 city parks on Oahu, but the majority — more than 85% — do not legally allow dogs for recreation. Only 36 allow leashed dogs, and 10 offer off-leash areas for dogs. The lack of dog-friendly parks is particularly noticeable on the leeward, windward and north sides of Oahu.
DPR is proposing a “comprehensive change” by allowing more leashed dogs into more city parks to recognize the important role pets play in the lives of park users.
“With the growing variety of ways our parks are used, and the increasing need for recreational space across the island, we want to do our best to balance these diverse interests as we extend on-leash dog privileges,” said DPR Director Laura H. Thielen in a news release. “Even providing a small area within a larger park for leashed dogs can make a significant difference to the growing population of dog guardians. We hope these discussions, and extending dog privileges, leads to a variety of social benefits, such as relieving our police department from responding to dog complaints, activating under-utilized park spaces, and a broader cohesion and respect amongst the community.”
At the same time, DPR said it understands concerns from residents regarding dangerous dogs and irresponsible pet owners who do not clean up after their pets. That is why the department wants input from the community by September before it moves forward on its initiative.
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Ala Moana Regional Park and Oahu’s botanical gardens are not being considered for this initiative at this time, DPR said, but may be discussed at another time.
To see a map where dog parks are located, visit bit.ly/OahuParkMap. To view an interactive map showing neighborhood boundaries and parks with dog privileges, visit bit.ly/dogneighborhoods.
