The Pickleman Speaketh...Dog Ban is a "Cop-Out"

I feel compelled to explain my position as the lone dissenting vote on the recent Derby Dog ban on the Greenway.

Doggone it...my dog is part of my family as are the canines of other families in Derby. Dogs show their love unconditionally.  They greet you when you come home and they follow your every move just begging you to play with them, feed them, walk them or pet them.

Angus will no longer be joining
us for family walks on the Greenway.

I think we could agree that dogs are not the problem...it's the irresponsible dog owners who have made dogs on the Greenway an issue.

We will always have irresponsible dog owners just as we will always have irresponsible smokers, litterers, bike riders, and a number of other irresponsible people using the Greenway.

There are underlying societal issues at the crux of the dog ban that could be be debated. Why do some people feel it's okay to litter (and let's face it, not picking up after your dog is a form of litter)?  I have been in the company of litterers and seemingly rational people who think it's okay to throw trash on the ground because it keeps people employed.  Anyways, I digress.

I maintain that this dog ban is a quality of life issue that has impacted my family and other Derby families.  I made it clear at the Board of Alderman meeting that I would not vote for anything where a government restricts my freedom to live the life I want to live as long as I am not infringing on the rights of other citizens.

The citizens and users of the Greenway have a right to walk a clean Greenway that is not messed with excrement.  Irresponsible dog owners are infringing on the rights of these citizens and should be dealt with accordingly.  How, you may ask?  By enforcing the existing rules that were already on the books.

The easiest thing in the world to do is to make rules.  The challenge lies with the enforcement of those rules.  We have had regulations on the books during the period the Greenway has been open.  The enforcement of existing rules has not been applied.

There are entities who are charged with enforcing the rules of this city.  When asked how many tickets and or fines have been issued, we were told it's impossible to enforce...you need to catch the dog in the act in order to issue an infraction to the owner.

I would suggest that we look to the truck weigh stations and scales on I-95.  The State does not have the money to keep those facilities open 24 x 7 to look for trucking infractions.  The State does open the weigh stations randomly several times a year to keep the truckers guessing.  As a result, the system is not bullet proof, but it keeps most of the renegade truckers operating within the law.

I believe the same approach could have been used on the Greenway.  Had the people charged with the enforcement of existing laws randomly started ticketing irresponsible dog owners, the message would have been received.

By saying the rules were impossible to enforce was a "cop-out."