We petition the City of Berkeley to declare a section of San Pablo Park to be an Off-Leash Dog Area.
We would respectfully advise the City of Berkeley that we all frequently bring our dogs to this park as there are no off leash dog areas anywhere else in walking distance to this area. Many of us locally resident dog owners live in homes or condos in the immediate vicinity and do not have property with a private yards and therefore have no opportunity for our dogs to freely play and exercise in an off-leash setting. Forcing us to drive someplace in order to access an off leash area is hardly in-line with Berkeley's commitment to energy conservation or sustainable transportation, it is also inconvenient and for most of us, impractical from a time point of view to be able to do this, either before work or after work.
Many of us are reluctant by-law violators, but have little options in this regard. It is impractical, if not downright impossible to exercise our dogs while they are leashed. Also trying to get ones dog to "poop" while leashed is often impossible and certainly far more time consuming.
As a suggested solution to this dilemma, we would like to suggest that the City of Berkeley allow the provisioning part of San Pablo Park as an off leash dog park.
We believe that such an accommodation will be a win/win situation for ALL park users, not just the dog owners, for the following reasons.
The NON DOG OWNING users of the park will still have the majority of the park for themselves, but will no longer be interfered with, by the dog owners,
The dog owners will no longer be in non compliance with the city by - laws,
The suggested area being as far away as possible from the playground area and the tennis courts will ensure the safety and security of children using the playground facilities and minimize disruption to those using the existing tennis courts and walkway.
