Rotorua residents have the opportunity to change the minds of councillors who yesterday voted against changing our city's bylaw to allow dog owners living in the central city area to walk their dogs to nearby parks.
The councillors have made the right decision - let's hope the dog-owning public doesn't now go silly.
The last thing we need is dogs on our central city streets. We will be opening the floodgates and the only thing that will result is dog poop on our footpaths.
The proposed change would also have allowed people to walk their dogs in the currently canine-free Kuirau Park, Village Green area and Government Gardens. They would have been required to have them on a leash at all times. Yeah, right.
Anyone who uses our forest knows dog owners routinely let their dogs run free throughout the forest, not just in the dog park area.
Dog owners this newspaper spoke to yesterday - following the council vote against this proposal to allow canines to be walked through the CBD and in nearby parks - reckon the council should get with the real world and allow responsible dog owners this privilege. But as we know, not all dog owners are responsible and other dog owners, seeing dogs being walked through the CBD, would see it as their right to do the same.
Who would police this? Who would ensure these dogs weren't allowed to do their business on the footpaths or anywhere near where people might walk?
We also know not all dogs are friendly, no matter their size and not all people like or feel comfortable around dogs. As a tourist city we should surely keep our streets as clean and obstacle-free as possible so our visitors can wander about without having to worry about bumping into dogs - or their poop.
It's bad enough our city street cleaners have to pick up butts and scrape chewing gum from our footpaths, let's not add scooping up dog poop to their job description.
Allowing dogs in the CBD is a silly idea which should not even be contemplated by our council. Our city leaders should have more pressing business to deal with than looking after the whims of a few people who choose to live where they do, where the rules include "no dogs allowed".
Please, let's keep it that way - for the good of the majority.
