SAUGUS — Residents would like to see a recreational space for dogs at Stocker Park.
Board of Selectmen member Jeff Cicolini said that while a dog park already exists in town at Breakheart Reservation, it’s a far walk to get there and the park isn’t that big. There is also no separation between larger and smaller dogs in that location, he said.
“It’s something that people have been asking for quite some time,” said Cicolini. “I think the need for a dog park has just become more prevalent, especially throughout the pandemic. A lot of people also got either additional dogs or got a dog for the first time and we realized that a lot of neighboring communities do have a dog park.”
Cicolini said he had plans to advocate for a dog park during his last term on the board, but the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the board’s priorities.
“Now we are trying to get it on the front burner,” he said.
Cicolini said there are many reasons why Stocker Park would be a good location for the town’s second dog park.
“No. 1, it’s a location that has already been utilized as a park in the past,” said Cicolini, who used to coach baseball at the park. “The park has since been less and less utilized each year, especially as baseball numbers continue to drop, but there are already a lot of key amenities that you look for when you are looking for a dog-park location.”
For example, he said Stocker Park is centrally located in town, there is ample parking, it’s less intrusive to the neighborhood since it’s located off of a main street in town, and it’s kind of tucked away.
“We figured this was a location that was already available,” said Cicolini. “It’s been significantly underutilized. It’s not very sightly down there; this would give us an opportunity to really clean it up.”
Cicolini said he would consider remodeling the playground as well to give children a place to play while the dogs play in the park. He said the suggested size of the dog park is one acre of land.
“Saugus Needs a Dog Park,” a Facebook page created by residents, has been recognized by Cicolini as another way of portraying the interest of the public.
