Problem

Pond Meadow Park is the gem of Braintree and Weymouth. Now a private group, the Braintree Dog Park Association, wants to clear forest floor and brush from 1.5 acres of wooded conservation land within the park—cutting many trees—and fence it in to create two dog parks.

Why is this a problem? First and foremost, Pond Meadow Park provides vital wildlife habitat, wetlands, and flood protection for the surrounding areas as well as a peaceful place for locals to walk and children to learn about nature. The proposed site, next to the children’s pavilion, is densely wooded and also often partially flooded. The removal of brush and the majority of trees in the area would affect water absorption, displace wildlife, and reduce the buffer against the abutting Route 3. Furthermore, instead of overlooking forested land rich with wild plant and animal life, children in the nature program would look down from the pavilion onto a manicured dog park. The Dog Park Association is open to using a different site within Pond Meadow, but the problem of wild habitat destruction would remain (and other issues, such as accessibility, could arise).

Many of the park’s regular visitors are also concerned about the noise and odor problems that often accompany dog parks. The peaceful nature of the park would be disrupted by the concentrated barking and dog waste.

The installation of a dog park here could also exacerbate the existing parking situation, which is already tight on fair-weather days and after sundown, when the gates close and parking becomes limited. Liberty Street residents would be affected by any spillover.

Why shouldn’t the Dog Park Association be allowed in PMP? The infrastructure already in the park was fundraised for and put into place by the the volunteer Friends of Pond Meadow Park and the Weymouth-Braintree Regional Recreation-Conservation District Commissioners for the benefit of children and local residents. It seems unfair to allow a private group to come in and take advantage of that infrastructure for a project that will be destructive to the environment of the park. No private groups should be allowed to come into the park to develop it for their own purposes.

What about costs and maintenance? Although the Dog Park Association hopes to raise grant money for the project, the taxpayers of the Town of Braintree will be on the hook for the future upkeep and security of the park, as well as liability. The two park rangers at Pond Meadow will have to take on the additional responsibility of overseeing the dog park.

Solution

The short-term solution is to reject the proposal to develop within Pond Meadow. Dogs are already allowed there, and local residents can continue to enjoy the park as it is with or without canine accompaniment.

The long-term solution that would satisfy everyone would be to keep searching for an alternate site that would not require cutting down and clearing woodlands. Most local residents are not opposed to a dog park somewhere in Braintree—just not within our cherished conservation land. There are many old parks and abandoned lots in the town that could use some revitalization and repurposing—some of these sites should be revisited instead of disrupting and encroaching on our forests.