Our Summer of Canine Discontent
Sevier Park is a lovely 20-acre expanse with a community center, tennis courts and an antebellum home (Sunnyside Mansion) that took a couple of bullets during the Civil War. Beginning with the flight of white Nashvillians toward more suburban areas during the '50s and '60s, the park's users have tended to reflect the surrounding neighborhoods, which are mostly African American. But for several years, younger professionals—drawn by more reasonable housing prices, in-town living and the decidedly charming look of the area bungalows—have been making a steady advance into the nearby Sunnyside and Belmont neighborhoods. The signs of change are everywhere.
Along 12 South, the commercial strip otherwise known at 12th Avenue South, you can almost smell the latte. There's a yoga studio, a gourmet Popsicle joint, several clothing shops and an upscale eatery or two. At least one new coffee shop is preparing to open. There are highly focused-looking young people punching on their Blackberries and talking about art. There are also many urban critters looking for a place to run freely: We're talking border collies, standard poodles, Rhodesian ridgebacks and enough golden retrievers to fill a Norman Rockwell scrapbook.
Beginning several years ago, neighborhood dog owners established a sort of informal tradition of gathering in front of Sunnyside Mansion at the end of the day and letting their dogs frolic. The dogs would be off-leash, left to cavort and prance until they collapsed in panting heaps, ready to return home.
Metro laws stipulate that all dogs brought into Metro Parks must be on a leash, so some offending dog owners have been cited for these seemingly harmless offenses. But there is only so much dog policing that city parks officials can do. After all, Nashville has 100 city parks.
Because some neighborhood residents—primarily older residents—have complained about the dog gatherings—and, in particular, the offending piles of poop left in their wake—area Metro Council member Ronnie Greer introduced a bill this week to ban dogs from Sevier Park.
Frankly, we can't think of a more absurd idea. While non-dog-owners' park enjoyment is just as important as those of dog owners, green spaces are intended for such activities as dog walking. The Scene's cards are clearly on the table: Several of us have taken our dogs—off-leash—to the park to play. We've broken the law doing so, and we can't in good conscious say we object to enforcement of leash laws, as they exist for the benefit of everyone. But one of our number was also robbed at gunpoint at Sevier Park about three years ago. So we agree with Tricia Frantz, director of the Montrose Neighborhood Alliance, about this proposed legislation. "Why, when we still have such crime issues, is [Greer] starting a fight over dog poop?" she asks. More importantly, we agree with Frantz when she says, "the dog walkers are developing a sense of community and security." It is indisputable that the presence of more people in the park, parading around with their canines, can only make it a more accommodating, lively—and safe—place. It would make better sense for the newly formed "Dog Management Team" (yes, it exists) within the Metro Parks Department (which opposes Greer's bill) to suggest the creation of a dog park at Sevier. Shelby Park recently established a dog park there, and it's time for another on the west side of the river.
The sociology of this situation is worth mentioning, and it plays no small part in this debate. Greer is African American and has had opposition before from the largely white, urban pioneering folk who are moving into the neighborhood. Basically, the dog drama is of the sort that has played out in many urban areas across the United States that are in the throes of gentrification: competition between older, settled black residents and the newer white folks who are moving in.
To our friends in these neighborhoods, we have a suggestion: How about a community get-together in Sevier Park to hash out these and other issues? We have the sense that the dog concerns are only the tip of the iceberg. The changes in the neighborhood have been so great and have come so fast that a community gathering couldn't help but be productive.
But banishing dogs completely from public green space certainly is not.
