Congratulations on the establishment, disappointed with the execution • A dog park was established in the French Carmel in Haifa

A dog park in the French Carmel: the residents welcome the establishment, but are disappointed with the way it is carried out and the ongoing maintenance • Haifa Municipality in response to Lai Fa: "We will increase the supervision at the place"

About two months ago, a dog park was established in Cauders Garden in the French Carmel and caused a dispute between the residents. The garden was established as a result of an ongoing struggle by the residents that began eight years ago, when almost all the residents of the neighborhood went out with their 20 dogs for a walk in the Cowders Garden and some of them received reports from Haifa Municipality inspectors. As a result, the residents contacted the municipality dozens of times and even offered to contribute to the establishment of the garden on their own initiative and were met with refusal .

After that, the dog owners were asked to sign the chairman of the neighborhood committee and at least several thousand residents so that the establishment would be implemented. The demand was difficult. The relationship with the Haifa municipality was disrupted, due to the fact that the residents continued to receive fines, there was a lot of anger and the meetings with the dog owners were stopped. In the last two years , the municipality of Haifa under the leadership of Dr. Einat Kalish - Rotem, began to establish dog parks in the neighborhoods and in recent months, when one of the residents contacted the municipality again, the long-awaited park was established.

Utilization of the dead space

"They finally established the dog park and it's wonderful. For many years we wrote letters about the playground and also about the dog park. There are a lot of dogs here and there are older people who have companionship and who come here every day with their dogs, she says Liat Altman-Fattai, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 40 years. "There is a dead and unused area here that is great for dogs. We hope that soon they will replace the old play facilities that are here."

is also Guy Bar, agrees with Altman-Pettai regarding the utilization of the dead space that he believes the municipality has neglected: "Better late than never. My dog ​​is already old but I'm glad to see that others are enjoying it."

Want a garden, disappointed with the maintenance

Although the residents who asked for many years to establish the dog park are happy that it was established, there are residents who disagree:
"It seems that the municipality did this to fulfill its duty. It looks shabby and the gates are open. It is not clear who maintains the place. The dogs defecate there and their owners do not collect. A dog park is something popular today, there is no problem with the mere existence of a dog park, but it needs to be maintained Her and be beautiful," says Ohad, who has experience in setting up dog parks in another municipality. A fan says that the dog parks he dealt with made a replaceable surface and the grass in the Cowders garden is considered the least successful surface. "In other gardens I saw there was a sand surface, which the municipality came to replace every so often, there were many more facilities where the dogs could play and here they put a piece of grass and two facilities. It may be that the construction of the garden is in progress, but at the moment it looks haphazard and mostly lacks signage with instructions. I haven't seen a team from the municipality that comes and maintains the place," he explains.

Lack of signage and supervision

The lack of signage causes a lack of understanding regarding the use of the garden among the residents: "I entered the garden with the dog and people asked me to leave, I explained that it was a dog park and this is the only place where I can let the dog out," says Bar.

Elad Tattenbaum also says that in the last year and a half, there has been a decline in the maintenance of the park, which over the years had community activities of the municipality and the community center. In 2018, renovation and restoration work was carried out there, which was stopped after the mayoral elections. "We did not inform any of the residents in advance about the establishment of the dog park. The dogs defecate on the way to the park and my daughter is afraid to walk around there because of the dogs. They took a grass garden that could be cultivated and enjoy the view," Tettenbaum criticizes the establishment of the garden.

The Haifa Municipality responded:

"The head of the operations administration of the Haifa municipality ordered the managers of the general inspection and parks departments to increase their activity in the place in order to ensure the maintenance of cleanliness and public order."