When I have a truly bad day I can't stand to be around people. I get moody, cranky, short tempered, even I don't like to put up with myself. I'm guaranteed to snap out of my foul mood with a short trip down to Auditorium Shores.... To watch and play with THE PUPPYS!!! A few tennis balls thrown, a splash or two, a licked face, and my foul mood is gone. There is something very special down there. I've met some of my now best friends, over a tattered tennis ball. Human and Canine.. Understand, I'm not currently a dog owner. I lost my pup at 14 years old, about a month before moving to Austin. A 105 pound, blonde person with fur. Aussie, Golden and Shepard mix. He had tiger stripes, didn't bark very often, but when he meant it, you payed attention. I love him still. I'm craving another one, a boy, most likely a golden mutt. I like my 4 legged men fuzzy and blonde. Early October, Like many others, found out that our esteemed City Council intended to accept a GRANT/LOAN from C3 to restrict and damn near eliminate the off leash dog park as we know it. I am pissed off. C3 has long complained about the pups destroying the lawn for their events, and is willing to bribe our City Council to eliminate their problem.
Have any of you actually gone to an event at the Shore? It sucks! From the crowds, garbage, lack of parking, I could go on and on... Paying 3 million upfront, will save them several million dollars down the road. In my mind, they are one step closer to owning one of our great outdoor spaces. This is supposed to be a dog friendly city! With all of those new condos just on the other side of the river, where are those pups going to get some down time?Anyway, below is a selection of articles and news stories about the plans. Along with a petition that will be presented to The City Council in December before the final vote. If you want to keep a small section of our fair city for Austin residence, then I humbly ask you to sign the petition and forward it to other friends and family within the city.
Thanks for letting me rant!
MiaATTENTION: RESIDENTS of AUSTIN, TEXAS ONLY
To presented to Austin City Council. Please login from Austin computers.
Auditorium Shores is Austin's largest and best leash free dog parks. Its central location makes it easy access for numerous downtown residents with dogs, as well as dog owners that live further away. Wide expanses of lawn and long stretches of waterfront access (that accomodate dogs of all ages and size) make this a joyous place for both dogs and owners to socialize and relax.
The Austin Park's plan reduces the size of the leash free area (down to 3.2 acres), relocate it to the spot that is furthest from the parking lot and adjacent to an outlet pipe full of slime. The result will be unsanitary water conditions for the dogs, an unsafe concentration of dogs and illegal access from the main parking lot (due to handicap access and because dog owners would have to cross a no dog zone to access the leash free zone). Another problem is the proposed fencing along the water will trap dogs that do not exit the water at the launch pads.
The Parks Department claims the dogs cause conflicts with joggers and hikers. We favor a design that retains the current leash free area, but loops a jogging trail around the area where most of the dogs congregate: from the South First St. parking lot to the Stevie Ray Vaughan Statue. In other words, move the path, not the dogs. The trail users have access to miles of unhampered trails. Surely they can be re-routed to accomodate a less than 300' stretch of happy dogs.
http://www.kvue.com/video?id=227000591&sec=551077
http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/...-austin-green/
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/780/7...es-leash-free/