Your dog’s dream of a legal off-leash romp within the Rochester city limits could soon be realized. City officials are looking at a couple of sites to pilot a dog park program beginning in late spring or early summer. The possible sites are the Washington Grove area of Cobbs Hill Park, and a large chunk of land on Norton Street in northeast Rochester.
And City Council will consider legislation this month to change the city code to allow dogs to be off-leash in designated areas.
City Council member Matt Haag has been scouting sites with Chris Fitzgerald, the city’s director of animal services; Norman Jones, commissioner of environmental services; Mitch Rowe, director of buildings and parks; and other officials.
Young professionals and empty nesters are increasingly choosing to live in urban environments, Haag says, and a dog park is an expectation for many. It may even play a role in where they live, he says. The decision to include a rooftop dog park in Tower280 downtown, the former Midtown Tower, is evidence of that trend, Haag says. Tower280’s apartments are also pet-friendly.
City officials are weighing factors including size, shade, parking, and proximity to homes in evaluating locations, he says, and the pilot program will probably last about six months. It hasn’t been decided whether the pilot will take place in more than one location, Haag says.
Officials have looked at other area dog parks for guidance, he says, including the parks run by Monroe County. The county has off-leash dog parks in Ellison and Greece Canal parks. Dogs must be registered members of Monroe County Dog Parks, which costs about $25 per dog annually. For that, you get a code to access the park and a tag for your dog.
The parks are self-policing, which means that the county does not staff the park. And you have to clean up after your pup yourself, though the county does provide poop bags.
This article appears in Mar 2-8, 2016.
It’d be awesome to have this happen. I get tired of A Holes letting their dogs off leash at Genny Valley Park and then their dogs run up to my super aggressive ankle biter. I really shouldn’t have to worry about my dog biting some other dog’s face while I’m out for a casual walk.
This would be such a wonderful addition to either neighborhood. The County parks are great and have partnered with two town parks as well: Henrietta and Brockport. When you sign up for the Monroe County Dog Parks, you are given a code that works at all four parks. It’s $24 per dog per year (or less than .07 cents per day!) I would gladly pay more than this for space for my dog to get some exercise and socialization.
As far as other parks to look at: there is a really great dog park near Buffalo in Tonawanda. We stop there when we’re on vacation or just passing through – the Ellicott Creek Bark Park. It’s very large at 25 acres, is on an island so dogs can run free, has bathrooms, playground equipment, several “beaches” for the dogs to swim at, and lots of room for all kinds of dogs and people to hang out together.
Alternatively – I’ve seen programs in other states where dogs can earn a special off leash license if they have a perfect recall and are well mannered around other dogs. They get permission to be off leash in certain parks, and all other dogs must be leashed.
Small dog parks are great for apartment living, but the gravel pit style of the Greece park with little grass and shade is not the best. Having something in a big green space with lots of shade and room to roam would be ideal. Even fencing in certain existing parks and having “off leash days” of the week might be something to look into. Can’t wait to see what the City comes up with. I hope they have a very successful pilot program and we see more dog parks in Monroe County soon.