West Hartford Denies Latest Dog Park Proposal

Editor’s note: In case you missed it from earlier this week (this story was originally published May 27)

Despite the latest rejection of a proposal to build a dog park in West Hartford, the president of the West Hartford Dog Park Coalition isn’t giving up hope that there will one day be a dog park in town.

A Town Council committee that studied the proposal recently released a report detailing why the plan to put a dog park behind Cornerstone pool should not move forward, including the site’s sloped topography, density of use, and neighborhood opposition, according to the Hartford Courant.

Committee member, and council minority leader, Denise Hall said in a statement, via the Courant, that “I think we have exhausted possibilities and have reached the point that expending further Town resources on the effort would be fruitless.”

Despite the setback, Phil Karlin, president of the West Hartford Dog Park Coalition, told the Courant that he thinks that all opportunities haven’t been exhausted and there are other viable sites in town and he’ll keep working to have a dog park built.

After receiving notice from the town that the proposal was denied, Karlin posted the following message on the coalition’s Facebook page:

“Yesterday I received notice from the Town that the Mayor has determined that the dog park should not be built. Our proposal is dead. There will be no Cornerstone Dog Park.

“Since this notice was received at the close of the business day at the beginning of a 3 day weekend, I will have to wait a few days for some answers, and further detail.

“Dog parks benefit everyone. They’re good for dog owners, and they are good for neighbors. They are a place where people meet, forge new friendships and build their communities. It’s proven that they enhance property values in their towns. All of West Hartford is worse off today.”

Read more at the Hartford Courant here.

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