HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-26-20 Public Comment - E. Johnson - Dogs Off Leash in City ParksFrom:agenda@bozeman.net
To:Agenda
Subject:Thank you for your public comment.
Date:Saturday, December 26, 2020 12:22:43 PM
A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted.
Form Name:Public Comment Form
Date & Time:12/26/2020 12:22 PM
Response #:817
Submitter ID:33606
IP address:35.133.26.173
Time to complete:31 min. , 24 sec.
Survey Details
Page 1
Public comment may be submitted via the form below, or by any of the following options.
Public comment may also be given at any public meeting.
Email:
agenda@bozeman.net
Mail to:
Attn: City Commission
PO Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771
First Name Edward
Last Name Johnson
Email Address iamedwardjohnson@gmail.com
Phone Number 4062239636
Comments
To the Commissioners of our City of Bozeman,
Most of us love dogs. We are a dog-friendly community that is very welcoming to our furry friends. They
have many places to roam along with us on our wonderful trails and in our beautiful parks. Our community
attracts many dog lovers and dog owners to these open spaces. However, a line has been crossed that the
city should have anticipated a long time ago. I just went on a hike with my wife on a city trail at a city park
and for the fifth time this year my wife was jumped on by an off-leash dog. This time she was scratched on
her leg.
The city has worked with regional trails and nonprofits to provide signage, doggy bag stations and even
leash stations, but that isn't enough. As more people join this community with their furry friends, more
people take their untrained dogs to places where they aren't supposed to be off leash and let them
defecate on trails and dangerously, jump on other people. This is despite leash signage and free baggies
etc.
My proposal as a citizen of our city is this: to take the measure of instituting fines for off leash dogs and
people who don't scoop their dogs' poop and clearly posting signage that threatens enforcement of those
fines. This could be done immediately at places like Peet's Hill and in conjunction with the USFS and other
stakeholders for trails like the M.
Let me be very clear. This is not an ignorable problem. This is not a minimized problem. This happened to
me and my wife at four separate city parks, five separate times this year. The GVLT, city and others have
been proactive in creating dog park spaces where owners can let their dogs run off-leash with others, and
that is great. But it is beyond past time the city started getting serious about enforcing off-leash dogs at city
parks and trails. As we grow, Bozeman is no longer a place where everyone's dog is trained and every dog
has plenty of open space to run. Please consider what I have to say.
Thanks for all of your hard work on the city commission dealing with issues like this one. Thank you for your
time and consideration and I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Best,
-Edward Johnson
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Thank you,
City Of Bozeman
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