Owners who walk their dogs in the Erasmus Park in Amsterdam-West are angry. According to them, they are increasingly displaced by other park visitors. According to some dog owners, this would leave little room for the dogs. “People don’t consider the dogs themselves.”
Especially during warm days it is very busy with visitors in the park in West. Also in the off-leash area that is specially intended for dogs. That is why, according to owners who often walk their dogs there much smaller. In an online petition call dog owners ‘it Erasmus Park to give back to the dogs.”
“For all the sad horns who don’t understand, there’s a dog playground here”
Frustrations are rising
”On summer days it is completely packed with people swimming, sunbathing and barbecuing. That’s nice, but they leave mess everywhere and we find that annoying”, says a dog owner while his Japanese Spitz dog pulls on the leash. The waste is not cleaned up and dogs can choke or get sick from it.
But it’s not just the waste that annoys many dog owners. There is also less space for their dog on the dog playground because the field is used by many sunbathers. And then there are the cyclists, who ride criss-cross through the off-leash area. It creates dangerous situations, says an owner: ”It just happens that dogs are hit every once in a while because people cycle here. It just has to be done with those cunt cyclists here.”
Initiator of the petition Wendy van Leeuwen hopes to wake up the municipality with the action: ”You used to be allowed to walk through the entire park with your dog. Now certain areas have been allocated to dogs, but many dog owners do not feel welcome there, especially in the summer months.”
It makes her angry that people don’t consider the outlet area in the park. “If we let go of our dog in a leash area, we are immediately fined. But if cyclists almost hit our dogs in the dog playground, there is no enforcement.”
Better signage
According to Van Leeuwen and other dog owners, placing more and clearer signs could make a big difference: “Many visitors do not realize that they are in a dog playground and are therefore not aware of any harm.” and more enforcement could help with this.
In addition, according to them, the municipality should indicate more clearly when dogs are and are not allowed to sniff on the large field of the park. ”On the post here is a ban on dogs, but that’s not true. Dogs are allowed to come here in the autumn and winter.” The municipality has announced that the period when the dogs are welcome here will soon be added to the renewed pointing posts.
In the Erasmus Park, dogs are not allowed to walk on a leash all year round in the outer ring of the park along the ring canal and the green strip along the Erasmusgracht. On the large field, this is only allowed from November 1 to April 1. The rest of the year, dogs must be kept on a leash on the recreational field. There is a general ban on dogs on the playing field at Café Terrasmus. A clean-up obligation applies throughout the park.
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