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| Trash can at the corner of McLaren & Bay St. Photo Credit: Jim Davies |
I recently read Dorian Panchyson's article in the Centretown Buzz about a community effort to revitalize Dundonald Park. I think the first place to start is to change the way dogs and, de facto, dog owners, are treated in the park. Dog owners, as well as tai chi practitioners, people enjoying a sunny day on a park bench, homeless people, bocci players, chess players and daily commuters use this park on a regular basis. Dundonald Park is an oasis of neighbourly-ness in the urban core that has few greenspaces. Since becoming a dog owner in 2008, I consistently look forward to walking my dog, Mrs. Wiggles, to meet up with fellow dog walkers and passers-by; many of whom have become friends of mine.
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| Mrs. Wiggles in February 2011. Photo Credit: Sean Toomey. Throw the dog a bone and give her a place to walk or run freely. And maybe another little boot. |
However, the tone established in the park is one of prohibition. I think it's in the same spirit as the Safe Streets Act, which attempts to
overregulate public space for the elusive goal of "protecting the public".
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Observe and Report! The world is clearly going to the dogs! Photo credit: Vanessa Davies; courtesy of ottawa.ca
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At each corner of the park, there is a trashcan marked "Do not deposit dog waste here." I appreciate the City of Ottawa's effort to clean up the park, but I think the plan is aimed at the wrong end, so to speak. I think the internal logic is that if people are prohibited from disposing their trash, they won't bring their dogs here. The evidence (twice daily walks to the park 10 months of the year) dictates the plan is a failure, because lots of people walk their dog and pick up after it. Frankly, I think the prohibition on depositing dog waste aims to punish the few owners who neglect to pick up after their pet, but in fact punishes us all unfairly and makes us feel unwelcome in our local park. It also raises the question, "if not in the only 4 trash receptacles in the park, where else do I deposit the waste of the loyal animal for whom I care and who I consider part of my family?" I ignore the ban and simply put the trash in the receptacle because to leave it on the ground would be illegal and unethical; to carry it several blocks would be unreasonably onerous. There need to be more trashcans downtown anyways, so discouraging people to use the ones that are there turns the City's aim of "cleaning the capital" on its head.
So, please, throw us a bone by taking down the prohibition signs on the trashcans, installing more trash cans - if they're not being installed because they're unsightly, then get a sculptor like Theo Pelmus to design them and make them into functional public art - before we pave paradise and put up another parking lot.
