Author, artist and Cheltenham resident Roberta Lee recently published an article in the Delaware Valley Journal titled “Let’s All Bark for a New Dog Park!“

The article describes the impacts of neighborhood dog parks, from lessening owners’ injuries to the socialization and exercise benefits for pets. It goes on to critique the Township’s existing dog park, located in the lower level of Curtis Arboretum, just beyond the turtle ponds.

An excerpt:

There is already a dog park in Cheltenham Township, in Curtis Park, but it is plagued by hazards: flooding, constant mud. poor maintenance, unsanitary conditions, inattentive humans, aggressive dogs and a frightening history of injured, and even fatally injured, dogs.

It is shunned, with good reason. Most of us have heard horror stories about the Curtis Dog Park. Some of us are the ones who experienced those horrors and tell those stories.

It goes on to note that longtime Cheltenham resident Gail Greenberg is proposing plans for a new dog park “that would bring new life to an abandoned, derelict township park which used to host Little League Baseball.” 

According to the article, the proposal is based on Greenberg’s experiences at a facility in New Orleans, the City Bark, and would offer grass, seating, water sources, emergency phones, security cameras, a walking path, restrooms and a dog washing station. Lee continues:

The new Cheltenham dog park would require a membership fee of $60 per year, all members would submit proof of up-to-date canine vaccinations, and that each dog is spayed or neutered. Members would get an electronic key card to open the gate and access the park. And, yes, there would be a system in place to report aggressive dogs or irresponsible owners (Dogs poop. They have people to clean that up.)

It’s a really terrific idea. The proposal has been sent to the Facilities Committee, but so far there has been no response. Gail is planning to contact all the township commissioners, but expresses doubt that they will be responsive. And yet Cheltenham prides itself on being an inclusive, welcoming community. Their website makes it sound like Woke City, for Heaven’s sake! A safe, clean dog park is as much of a benefit for humans, as it is for canines.

“The Township has received the proposal along with additional support for it shared by residents through the facilities comment email (facilities@cheltenhampa.gov) and it’s being taken under advisement by the Board along with all the other comments received through that channel,” Lauren Walter, the Township’s Public Information Officer, said.

To view Greenberg’s proposal, you can click here. For more on the Curtis Dog Park, you can click here.

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Photos: Yelp.com, Cheltenham Township