Could a Derby dog park solve the never-ending dog poop problem on the Derby Greenway?
Local officials think it’s worth a shot.
A subcommittee of the Derby Board of Aldermen Tuesday voted to ban dogs from the Derby Greenway — pending movement on the creation of a dog park somewhere in Derby.
The subcommittee’s move is a recommendation — and doesn’t have teeth unless approved by the full Board of Aldermen. That could happen at an Aldermen meeting later this month.
The Derby Greenway is a paved recreation trail that stretches from the Derby-Shelton bridge all the way to BJ’s on Division Street.
Dog feces has been a problem off and on for six years, said Alderman Ken Hughes.
People — and town workers — often complain about the poop situation. However, even more people complain whenever Derby officials talk about banning pooches.
The issue came up at the most recent Derby Board of Aldermen meeting. Click here to read a New Haven Register article on the issue.
Meanwhile, Mayor Anthony Staffieri and Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley have been looking into creating a dog park.
Several spots in Derby have been considered — the front runner is O’Sullivan’s Island, a spot next to the Derby Greenway where the Naugatuck and Housatonic rivers meet.
The city has also been in discussions with the City of Ansonia about a dog park. Ansonia recently opened its river walk, which extends the Derby trail.
However, city officials in Ansonia prohibited dogs from the start.
Staffieri said he and O’Malley are finalizing costs associated with a dog park and a decision could be made later this month. In 2010, city officials said they had a grant of about $10,000 that could be used to purchase a fence for a dog park.
Meanwhile, a handful of Greenway users interviewed Wednesday afternoon had mixed views about the dog droppings issue.
John and Nora Caruso, of Ansonia, said they walk along the Greenway every few days and haven’t noticed much of a problem lately.
“I haven’t noticed many dog droppings,” John Caruso said. “There used to be. You couldn’t really step off the pavement. In about the last six months it’s gotten better.”
John Gasiorowski, of Shelton, was walking his yellow Labrador retriever, Ollie, on the Greenway Wednesday afternoon.
“He went about 10 minutes ago and I picked it up. I don’t think it’s a big issue,” Gasiorowski said, noting he always brings a plastic bag along on walks. “That’s why I don’t mind asking for plastic at the grocery store.”
Shelton’s Mark Hummel has walked the trail a couple times per week for the past year or so and says dog droppings usually aren’t a major issue.
“Generally, it’s pretty clean,” he said. “It seems like it’s worse when it’s warm out and there are more people.”
Ansonia resident Carolyn Johnson said that though she loves dogs, she thinks the droppings problem has gotten worse since she began walking the Greenway daily in October.
“It was very clean,” Johnson said. “Recently I’ve noticed people just don’t clean up. It’s a nice area for dogs, too. But if (owners) are not going to clean up after themselves, it’s pretty sad.”
Gloria Luneau, of Seymour, and Emilia Granton, of Ansonia, agreed. The two walk the Greenway about five days a week and said that though dog droppings can be a problem, it’s just one of many, with litter and graffiti also big issues.
“When they banned the dogs it was wonderful,” Luneau said with a laugh Wednesday, noting that these days “you have to watch where you’re walking.”
Granton bemoaned the graffiti covering many of the signs along the path.
“Every night you see something else new added,” she said. “We just can’t keep anything nice.”
“They should put cameras out here,” Luneau said.
Hughes, the Derby Aldermen, said the city considered cameras — but they’re expensive.
The police department put its dog warden on poop patrol, too — but actually catching an offender isn’t easy.
People have even suggested creating citizen poop patrols — but that could create a liability for the city.
“It’s not like we’re sitting here laughing saying ‘Let’s ban dogs,’” Hughes said. “But it’s a problem that needs to go away.”
Eugene Driscoll contributed to this report.
