Dog Park Location Still Up in the Air

There will be an off-leash dog park at That was decided two years ago when the Board of Selectmen voted for the. What is undecided is where within the sprawling Phillips Park the off-leash dog park will be.

At the selectmen's meeting Tuesday night, several neighbors of the park came to protest the location of the dog area, thinking it would be near Smith Lane.

The off-leash dog park would be in a fenced area about 100 feet by 100 feet in size.

Town Administrator Andrew Maylor assured the neighbors that although the dog area has been moved from its original area at Kid's Cove in the park, there is no definite site approved for the dog area.

He conceded that there has been confusion about the location of the dog area.

“It is an evolving process,” he said.

Maylor proposed to hold a meeting for those who are interested at Phillips Park to discuss the various locations for the dog area.

In a letter to the board, the residents of Smith Lane, Sutton Place and Puritan Road wrote: “All of the homeowners on Smith Lane are senior citizens who do not want to tolerate the barking, noise, parking and turmoil that a dog park would bring to our neighborhood and back yards.”

Because of the heavy use of Phillips Park by sports teams and because of the proximity to the beach, the neighbors complained that they “already must tolerate beach goers who block our driveways, thrown their rubbish on our lawns, and park illegally on our street at all hours of the evening.”

“Enough is enough,” the letter said.

Marc Eichler, president of the Swampscott Park for Off-leash Time (SPOT), told the neighbors that the dog park would not cause more problems. “We want to get along with our neighbors,” he said.

Board Chairman Matthew Strauss, responding to an accusation that the town has not kept the neighbors informed about the dog area, explained that the board approved the dog park two years ago and has been debating it for about three years.

Maylor said the board has met on the dog park issue five times.

Eichler said he believes the confusion resulted when the Kid's Cove area of the park was ruled out for the dog area because it was in the path of future expansion for the athletic fields.

Maylor said the dog area is most likely to be closer to Humphrey Street than Smith Lane.

Three Dollar Fee Reversed

In other business, the board unanimously reversed an earlier vote to charge $3 per day to residents who park in the town-owned lot at the railroad station.

The plan was to install a payment kiosk at the lot, which holds 29 spaces

The selectmen decided they did not want to assess the commuters about $650 a year to park.

They already pay the town $15 a year to purchase a town recreational parking sticker. That sticker is required to keep out-of-town commuters from using the free lot.

“People will do anything for a free parking space,” said board member Jill Sullivan, who along with Strauss voted for the fee earlier. “I plead guilty to being inconsistent,” she said.

Board Postponed Action on Phillips Beach Parking

The board postponed another controversial parking issue. The Traffic Advisory Committee presented a plan that wouldon both sides of Shepard Avenue, near the Beach Club and Phillips Beach.

Paul Levinson, a neighbor, urged the board not to allow parking on both sides of the street. “It is a safety issue,” he said. Cars speed through the area, looking for a parking space. He urged beach-goers to use Preston Beach where there is more parking.

Strauss said the parking near Phillips Beach “is woefully inadequate.” He said he would support the plan for allowing parking on both sides of the street.

Sullivan disagreed with Strauss, saying only on a few days a year there were more cars to park there than there were spaces.

Board members said it is so near the end of summer that they would like to get more information about the parking at the Beach Club lot and come up with other options for parking near Phillips Beach.

Maylor and the selectmen praised the town's employees for their efforts during the hurricane last weekend.

The administrator said only 29 homes were still without power, and he had been told they would have electricity last night.