When did El Roble children’s Park become an El Roble Dog Park, too? As you can imagine, not all who bring their dogs to El Roble Park are responsible dog owners. For health and safety reasons, I no longer bring my grandchildren to the park because of the smell, urine and dog feces left behind. The dog sign and waste bags at the entrance of the park have caused a significant change to a park designed for neighborhood children to encourage its use as a dog park, too. The exponential increase in dogs and their owners at the park has also played havoc with the neighborhood dogs, who are now barking in protest at every dog not from this neighborhood. Let’s do the right thing and support a dedicated dog park for our best friend, so we can keep our children’s play area safe and healthy.
Red Phone hates to admit, good caller, there is no real easy solution to your dilemma. Red Phone spoke to Bill Headley, supervisor for Gilroy City Park and Landscaping Department, about your concerns and he explained that there were some complaints to the city that doggy dispensers were not available for El Roble Park. The dispenser and sign were installed late last year as a result.
In fact, according to Headley, the city will place doggy dispensers in all Gilroy parks in the future because many believe the dispensers help keep parks clean.
“I am unaware of any dog issues in any Gilroy park, including El Roble Park,” Headley said.
He mentioned, however, that El Roble Park shares a common unfenced border with the El Roble Elementary School yard, and they both border residential yards with dogs. The new policy adopted by the city is to design parks and schools that do not border on residential homes to prevent this problem.
“Unfortunately, this is not the case for El Roble Park,” Headley said. Neighborhood dogs will bark at visitors in the park, especially at night. If this happens, Headley recommends calling the police department’s non-emergency number at (408) 846-0350 to report it.
“Dogs and their owners who follow the rules are welcomed (at our parks),” Headley said. “We encourage all to use our parks.”
For those who prefer a leash-free park, visit the Las Animas Dog Park at 400 Mantelli Drive in Gilroy or the Morgan Hill Dog Park on Olympic Drive, Morgan Hill.
