Two different proposals are before the Sammamish City Council that deal with parks rules, and each calls for a different response. There are already regulations that mandate dogs be on a leash. Finding a way to enforce this policy is worth the city’s time.
Pet owners love their dogs, but that doesn’t mean others do. Sure, you know Fido wouldn’t hurt a fly, but people may have had bad experiences, and pet owners should be sensitive to them. Small children are especially vulnerable to unleashed dogs.
There are also environmental reasons to stop dogs from crashing through bushes and accessing streams and lakes.
The city spends money on maintaining an off-leash area, and most people in Sammamish have yards. There are ample opportunities for dogs to roam free without letting them off leash in city parks.
Using volunteer police to enforce the leash law makes sense, and having a uniformed presence could help everyone feel safe.
A proposed smoking ban, however, is a bridge too far. Both the city and county have proposed a ban on smoking in public parks.
There is a legitimate concern that cigarette butts cause damage to Mother Earth, but putting out ashtrays and educating smokers (and how many smokers are there in the parks, anyway?) is a more realistic solution.
The city’s Parks Commission points to a study showing the dangers of second-hand smoke outdoors. The study, however, dealt with smoke on restaurant patios.
Common sense says atmospheric conditions in a few square feet of a sidewalk café don’t seem like they would compare to sprawling acres of trees and fields.
Yes, smoking can be dangerous to people near the smoker, but it’s a park. It won’t take much of a breeze to dissipate the smoke, and there’s plenty of room to move if you catch a whiff.
Unlike a dog, the smoke will not chase after you, and it won’t bite. The cigarette butts aren’t nearly as bad as dog feces, but if we can teach dog owners to clean up after their pets, surely we can teach smokers to clean up their butts.
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