Dogs still run free in Africville Park, but perhaps for not much longer. Jennifer Watts, councillor for District 8, says the Off Leash Dog Strategy Committee will hold public consultations throughout the fall towards transferring the park by spring of 2014. A date has yet to be set for the consultations.
The former Seaview Park, was renamed Africville Park as part of the 2010 compensation package and apology for the people of Africville. The Africville Heritage Trust is working to develop the area with markers and heritage trails to honour the people who lived there. One of the oldest black communities in Halifax, residents were forced to relocate when it was bulldozed in the 1960s after decades of neglect from city officials.
Irvine Carvery, president of the Africville Genealogical Society, says the people of Africville “are adamant they don’t want dogs in the park. In terms of our heritage fight, the urine and feces is disrespectful,” he says.
Joan Sinden, who writes a blog dedicated to dog-walkers in the HRM, dogkisser.blogspot.ca, says she enjoys the park as it’s one of two official, permanent off-leash dog parks in the city—Point Pleasant is the other—though Sinden “always thought it was disrespectful to the people of Africville to open up the area as a dog park.” There are five other designated parks and sports fields open for unfettered roaming throughout the year.
“We don’t really have an official off leash dog park that is completely fenced in—Seaview is sort of fenced in—but not fenced in all the way down to the ground for the little dogs,” she adds, offering Seaview Lookoff as a good alternative location. Seaview Lookoff is up the hill from Africville Park, across the railroad tracks.
Watts says providing fenced-in areas is not part of the strategy because dogs must always remain under their owner’s control in any event. There is, however, a fenced-in dog park for the visually impaired on Cogswell Street.
This article appears in Oct 10-16, 2013.
What about the free loader with his crappy looking trailers that we have to look at everyday. That is surely making the area look beautiful.
I peed in this park, I’ll do it again too.
I don’t use Seaview Park and I know it’s history but dog feces should be picked up everywhere. It’s an insult to every community.
That aside, I don’t really get why an off-leash dog leash is an issue. Dogs as pets are certainly not only in a white person’s domain, they’re ingrained in all cultures. They’re part of the family. No children allowed at the park either? I think it’s silliness and over-sensitivity.
Oh my god, I thought of a relevent comment. Go Nukka!!!
If you make the dogs wear a leash, then they’ll still piss and shit everywhere. What a silly argument.
My understanding is that the place looks like a shitstorm went through it after the annual homecoming each summer. At least it gets picked up eventually, but seriously, people.
Hey, Irvine Carvery, go fuck yourself!!! People out enjoying a public park is not disrespectful. Dogs do not have any malice toward any race or group of people. If the owners are pissing on your monument or shitting on the porch of your church, fine, I can see it being disrespectful. Nobody down there says when their dog sits, “good boy, show the black community what you think of their legacy”. Last time I was there, there were members of the black community there with their dogs, letting them piss and shit. Not to mention that after “Africville days”, I guess the garbage, food, etc…left behind is a sign of respect. Like flowers on a grave, yeaaaaah buddy!!!!
God forbid someone’s rottie catches and kills the sacred white “spirit” rat.
Woah you can add pictures to bitches? Shit just got real.
I thought that too, Hoist. It was composed by Rana Encol whose writings generally appear in the Reality Bites section.
Hopefully now more of their journalists will be LTWWB’ing. I want to read what the Mod’s complaints.
“Watts says providing fenced-in areas is not part of the strategy because dogs must always remain under their owner’s control in any event.”
Oh, for fucks sake. I actually talked to that woman about this. Fort Needham is close by and has an off leash area, but it’s small, surrounded by trees so you can’t easily see your dog, and busy streets that your dog could reach in about five seconds of running. YES, your dog should be under control, but dogs get spooked, a puppy sees a squirrel, someone shows up who hasn’t perfectly trained their dog and suddenly you have a potential car accident when the dog runs into the street. All because the city expects four legged animals to behave perfectly at all times (when we can’t even get the two legged ones to do that) and is too cheap to put up a fence.
Aftricville Park suffers because it gets a disproportionate amount of dog traffic when people habitually drive 45 minutes out of their way so that they can use a dog park that is at least mostly fenced (which you can’t even get at a sports field in this city). There needs to be a new FENCED dog park (the Look Off park is bordered by highways for those who don’t know, and there are three deer that practically live in there in the fall), and a few additional ones so no one park gets all the traffic. Which is what was supposed to happen but surprise, surprise, the city hasn’t followed through with the strategy they themselves thought up.
It appears that dogs shitting isn’t the only problem for Seaview Park, shooting and dumping Mr. Sudds body adds nothing to the ambience.
I’m unsure of what I’m reading here, is it just the fenced in status that is being reconsidered? The park would still be known as a dog park?
I think this is silly too. I use this park and have for the last 4 years. I enjoy the people . the dogs, and the walk. We all do our best to keep park clean, and very rarely do you see any dog droppings.
We need a fenced in dog park, all big Cities have a Dog Park, why do we have to discuss closing this park , when we should be discussing ways of improving the park and making sure no one is disrespecting the Heritage. People from all walks of life use and enjoy this park with or without a dog. Thank you
I don’t believe this area was even there during Africaville’s hayday, they put land fill in harbour and created it, so why should it go back to them? Also if it wasn’t for dog walkers using it, I bet there would hardly be any people using it at all, and then it would revert back to a “needle” and “condom” park as it was before becoming a dog park.