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The Armory Thread

Liamlunchtray

By Liamlunchtray
in Providence

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quente Whistle-Stop

quente

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The article says that the baseball diamond is "unused." What the heck are they taking about? That diamond is used all the time (when dogs aren't running around in it).

The Dexter training ground is one of the most heavily used parks I have seen, including constant soccer games and frequent baseball. (not to mention the playground, and joggers, etc.) The signs in the park say that no soccer is allowed. Now there's no baseball allowed, either?

Who is this park supposed to be for, running dogs and sleeping winos, or families looking for outdoor recreation opportunities?

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Liamlunchtray Burg

Liamlunchtray

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The article says that the baseball diamond is "unused." What the heck are they taking about? That diamond is used all the time (when dogs aren't running around in it).

The Dexter training ground is one of the most heavily used parks I have seen, including constant soccer games and frequent baseball. (not to mention the playground, and joggers, etc.) The signs in the park say that no soccer is allowed. Now there's no baseball allowed, either?

Who is this park supposed to be for, running dogs and sleeping winos, or families looking for outdoor recreation opportunities?

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basachs Burg

basachs

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The baseball diamond was originally constructed for the Federal Hill Little League. There was an unofficial agreement between WBNA/Dog owners and the League that the dog park would not be used for dogs during baseball season. There is still a sign attesting to this on the Armory side of the fence. The Federal Hill Little League no longer uses this field and it has fallen into disrepair. While pickup games are played there for sure, it is not really a great ball field.

I started the Friends of Dexter Training Ground group so that the whole park would be taken better care of, the off leash area is a piece of that mission. The Parks Dept has been looking for a while for an off leash area on the West Side and we worked with them on this to ensure that if they designated this area as an off leash area, we and the users of the park would take care of it. We have installed a couple of of new bag dispensers and had two trees planted there. More trees are planned. We are looking into options as far as what to do about the grass situation in that area.

I understand there may be people that want it for a baseball field. We did ask neighbors that live on Dexter and Parade street about it. They supported it. We talked to some mothers that use the playground, they support it as well and would rather see dogs in the off leash area than in the playground with their children.

As it stands today, it is not really a good baseball field, nor a good off leash area . The fields near Bridgham school provide a much better playing area as Jen pointed out so when given the opportunity to have this area cleaned up and maintained, we pursued it.

Glad to talk to anyone about it further if they have issues or concerns.

Baruch Sachs

Friends of Dexter Training Ground

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dgreco City

dgreco

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The baseball diamond was originally constructed for the Federal Hill Little League. There was an unofficial agreement between WBNA/Dog owners and the League that the dog park would not be used for dogs during baseball season. There is still a sign attesting to this on the Armory side of the fence. The Federal Hill Little League no longer uses this field and it has fallen into disrepair. While pickup games are played there for sure, it is not really a great ball field.

I started the Friends of Dexter Training Ground group so that the whole park would be taken better care of, the off leash area is a piece of that mission. The Parks Dept has been looking for a while for an off leash area on the West Side and we worked with them on this to ensure that if they designated this area as an off leash area, we and the users of the park would take care of it. We have installed a couple of of new bag dispensers and had two trees planted there. More trees are planned. We are looking into options as far as what to do about the grass situation in that area.

I understand there may be people that want it for a baseball field. We did ask neighbors that live on Dexter and Parade street about it. They supported it. We talked to some mothers that use the playground, they support it as well and would rather see dogs in the off leash area than in the playground with their children.

As it stands today, it is not really a good baseball field, nor a good off leash area . The fields near Bridgham school provide a much better playing area as Jen pointed out so when given the opportunity to have this area cleaned up and maintained, we pursued it.

Glad to talk to anyone about it further if they have issues or concerns.

Baruch Sachs

Friends of Dexter Training Ground

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eltron Hamlet

eltron

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As it stands today, it is not really a good baseball field, nor a good off leash area . The fields near Bridgham school provide a much better playing area as Jen pointed out so when given the opportunity to have this area cleaned up and maintained, we pursued it.

Glad to talk to anyone about it further if they have issues or concerns.

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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Isn't this a massive area for a dog run? Most of the dog runs I've seen in other cities have been no where near this size. Why is such a large area of a public park being turned over to dogs? Isn't there a smaller area of the park that could be fenced in for dogs, maybe the dog owners could raise funds for the fencing.

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Liamlunchtray Burg

Liamlunchtray

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Isn't this a massive area for a dog run? Most of the dog runs I've seen in other cities have been no where near this size. Why is such a large area of a public park being turned over to dogs? Isn't there a smaller area of the park that could be fenced in for dogs, maybe the dog owners could raise funds for the fencing.
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ruchele Hamlet

ruchele

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it does concern me that the field would be completely turned over to dogs without any replacement for the kids (mostly minority and lower-income) who have pretty limited options in general. I love using the field for a dog run, but not at the expense of recreation opportunities for the people that really need it.
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basachs Burg

basachs

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There are a lot of competing opinions about off leash areas in general. And there is plenty that can be said from a ton of sides.

I dont want to get into it too deeply on an internet message board, but would like to address some comments that have been made about this.

Dog vs Human

Off leash areas are not just for dogs. They are as much for people as they are for their companions. Not too long ago, Dexter Park was a lot worse off than it is today and a lot less safe. The prevalence of people walking their dogs did a lot to curb illicit behavior simply by being there. Dogs or companion animals have become an important part of our society. Companion animals provide many benefits which are difficult to quantify in monetary terms, but which have important implications for the health and welfare of humans.

Just as friendships are formed between dogs in these areas, so too are friendships among human beings. When I moved here, some of the first people I met were walking their dogs in the park.

The children that use the park are also exposed to dogs and that is a good thing as well. Many of these children do not have dogs and the park represents an opportunity not only to play, but to learn about animals.

In short, there a number of human benefits, along with canine.

Fencing

The issue of fencing is both a money one and a historic one. The historic one is that technically there should not be any fencing in Dexter Park. The park was always intended by Ebenezer Dexter to be a passive park, not an active recreation one. Now this was before my time, but there was apparently come controversy even when the existing baseball fencing was set up. Putting new fencing up in other areas goes against the spirit of the park.

I'd also like to point out that the rest of the park is open to people playing pickup games of soccer, baseball and whatever. To play baseball, a fence is not expressly needed. I do totally agree that it is nice to have.

Although i am a dog owner, I am not closed to any ideas related to the park. As I stated earlier, the off leash area is one piece of the park.

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ruchele Hamlet

ruchele

Posted
Posted
"Sec. 18-1. Firewood, timber, other material, animals, vehicles in Dexter training ground.

No person shall, except for training purposes, place, put or deposit, or suffer to be placed, put or deposited, upon the Dexter training ground, or any sidewalk or street adjoining the same, any firewood, timber, stone, building or other materials, or cross the same, except that portion thereof used for streets, with any horses, cattle, swine, carriages, carts or other vehicles.

(Ord. 1914, ch. 17,

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c.a.haynes Unincorporated Area

c.a.haynes

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If the City issued a zoning violation, it can still take a while for the use to stop. If the owner decides to seek a use variance, he'll continue to operate illegally until the hearing. I don't know what the process is if he doesn't request the variance. He should cease and desist, but we all know how lax enforcement can be. We probably ought to complain regularly until it is shut down.
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oak Unincorporated Area

oak

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I think it would be critical to know if the legal non-conforming use ( auto repair) was technically abandoned through the vacancy of the property for so long. Wouldn't it be much harder to get a use variance if the current zoning were residential? It would be exceedingly difficult to argue that there is no other beneficial use of the property... But, stranger cases have been made, and were approved.
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