By Gregg Wilcox, DTNA President

These past two months as the new president of DTNA has been initiation-by-fire and initiation-under-fire. Not since the brouhaha over the proposed Trader Joe's in Duboce Triangle has there been so much contention over a single issue. The issue? A fenced-in dog play area in Duboce Park. The pros and cons have been discussed recently in the local newspapers and on television news. This has been an ongoing process throughout the city; Duboce Park just happens to be in the current limelight for this hot issue.

In an ideal world, we would not need separate areas for people and dogs. All dog owners would clean up after their dogs and the rain would wash away the rest. And, while most dog owners are responsible, the rest of them aren't, which creates the problem. Most dog owners want an off-leash area in the park where their dogs can romp and get exercise, while most parents want a dog-free area in the park where their kids can play in a clean and safe environment. The dilemma? How to achieve those goals without dividing the park into a number of fenced-in enclaves.

On February 17th, the Recreation and Park Department held a public forum in the Harvey Milk Center to gather input from the neighbors regarding Rec. & Park's proposal for a dog play area in Duboce Park. As announced in the last newsletter, DTNA also held a public forum at the March 14th neighborhood meeting. At both meetings, there were clearly identified positions - those who supported a dog play area, those who wanted safer (and cleaner) play areas for kids, and those who didn't want to see Duboce Park divided by fences. At both meetings, you could have cut the tension with a knife.

In March, DTNA and Supervisor Bevan Dufty co-sponsored a neighborhood task force to address the key issues raised at the two meetings. Members on the task force include Friends of Duboce Park, Duboce Park Advocates, Duboce Dog, McKinley School, Duboce Playground Parents, local day care groups, and Environmental Quality for Urban Parks. We have also included local neighbors with backgrounds in urban planning and landscape architecture. The goal of the group is to make a recommendation to the Dog Advisory Committee.