South Philly Review

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Walking a dog a few times a day can be a hassle for those near Dickinson Square Park, Fourth and Tasker streets. Some allow their canines to roam leash-free across the public area even though it is illegal -- but with a proposed dog run, pooches could soon be free as the birds.

"Children come and go," Ashley Tobin, president of Friends of Dickinson Square Park, said. "They're here in the summer, but the dogs are here year-round."

Currently, the park's rules regarding dogs include keeping them on a leash, picking up after the pets and not allowing them near the playground equipment, according to the park's Web site.

Walking dogs Jade and Pearl on the grounds, Matt Deprospero said it's harder to live in the city with a pet. Last month, he saw a dog owner overthrow a ball while playing and it caused an accident .

"I think it will keep people from letting their dogs off the leash, which is becoming a problem," the resident of Fourth and Tasker said of the dog run.

According to the park's master plan compiled from community input and released last year, the lower west corner of the park along Morris Street has been allocated for the dog run.

"We want folks to be satisfied in the end," Kathy DeAngelis, cofounder of the park's volunteer association, said of the reason for gathering residents' thoughts.

The association has held monthly meetings with the next 7 p.m. May 5 to brainstorm the design, maintenance and policy as well as fundraising for the site. The focus remains on managing a portion of the park for dogs and giving owners a safe and legal way to let their canines play unleashed, Ben Cromie, the run committee's lead volunteer, said.

"The most important thing is having a group of people take care of it," he said. "That is fulfilling the purpose. It's not a space for dogs. It's a space for people, for neighbors ... The purpose is to make the whole park bigger for people who don't want anything to do with the dogs."

The second meeting with the dog run committee was March 24 with a general meeting two days later. At the latter, Tobin announced Dickinson Square had received $300,000 from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which the City matched to help rejuvenate the park.

Estimated at $15,000, the bulk of the run's cost is in the iron fencing, DeAngelis, the dog run committee chairwoman, said. It will encompass a double gate at its entrance, with a 4-foot metal fence, a water fountain and benches. Similar dog parks across the city have served as examples of what can be done and what would be the best options at Dickinson Square, she added.

"We like to use them and piggyback off their experience," she said of other parks.

The run will not only allow dogs to exercise and interact, but likewise the owners.

"Dogs are really social animals," DeAngelis said. "You are looking to enhance that. You're also giving like-minded folks a place to gather."

While DeAngelis told the crowd at the meeting the future of the dog run, Department of Recreation Commissioner Sue Slawson and Recreation Program Coordinator Barbara McCabe also were in attendance.

"I do want to caution that before any dog park is erected, the Department of Recreation has to approve it ...," McCabe said. "The recreation department has no way to maintain these dog areas. If it's not taken care of, it's worse than not having it."

Also at Thursday's meeting, residents had questions, such as about the hours and the location.

"It's not the right place for dogs," John Cochie, of Fourth and Tasker, said, adding the land along Moyamensing Avenue in front of the basketball courts and across from Vare School, 1621 E. Moyamensing, was more suitable.