Madison doesn’t allow dogs, even on leash, in most of its parks. But city staff propose allowing them in a few more.
In most parks in Madison, man’s best friend is unwelcome. While the city ranks high in the number of off-leash dog parks, with seven — the fourth most in the nation per capita, according to the Trust for Public Land — only 14 of Madison’s roughly 270 parks allow leashed dogs. That leaves at least 249 parks where four-legged friends are banned, even when they’re on a leash.
“It is my opinion that the current dog policy is antiquated and does not serve the city of Madison well,” writes parks superintendent Eric Knepp in a May 2 email to the Common Council. Knepp did not return several calls for comment.
This month, Knepp is asking the council to extend and possibly expand a pilot program that allows leashed dogs at 13 additional city parks.
Officials approved the pilot program in August as a way to gauge public opinion on creating more dog-friendly areas. Enforcement of city leash laws was increased as part of the pilot, with an emphasis on an “education-first policy.”
The parks included in the pilot were Acewood, Baxter, Blackhawk, Door Creek, Garner, Greentree, High Point, James Madison, Norman Clayton, North Star, Richmond Hill, Walnut Grove and Wingra.
The pilot technically expired in April but the city has continued to allow dogs in these parks. Knepp says there were “relatively few” problems. “There are issues that we are working through at some of the locations,” Knepp writes. “Some people don’t like dogs period, others don’t like being ticketed for letting their dogs run off leash, etc.”
Meanwhile, a new citizen group is pushing officials to enforce the city’s existing leash laws both in parks and in other public spaces, like sidewalks. Jennifer Laack, the group’s founder, says the group is not anti-dog. Laack owns three dogs, one of which gets anxious when confronted by an off-leash pooch. Although Olbrich Park prohibits dogs, she says she frequently sees them there. “Olbrich has essentially become an unofficial [off-leash] dog park,” she says. “It’s become so normative that I think some people don’t even know what they are doing is illegal.”
While Laack supports allowing leashed dogs in more parks, she doesn’t want dogs running free. “There is no shortage of public sidewalks and public streets that allow on-leash dogs,” she says. “Yet the issue of dogs being off-leash is so pervasive that it led me to create this group.”
But others don’t want more parks open to dogs. “Even conscientious [dog owners] can’t clean up all the urine in the parks,” says Tim Wong, who lives on the east side. “They are an intrusion on the city.”
For now, the Parks Division is moving to allow dogs in more city parks. Knepp is open to adding up to five more parks to the pilot program. He writes that Elizabeth Link Peace Park on State Street and Central Park have already been suggested. Knepp adds that both have “good path systems and are in high-traffic areas for dogs, so they are good initial candidates with alder and survey support.”
Knepp also expects to add three more off-leash dog exercise areas to the park system within the next six years.
The Common Council will decide at its May 17 meeting whether to extend or expand the dog pilot program. People can weigh in on the city’s dog policies by taking a short survey at the Parks Division website.
