PITTSBURGH — A designated dog park area in Mt. Washington’s Olympia Park that has been at the center of complaints from neighbors is set to reopen this week, city officials confirmed Tuesday.
“All of a sudden one day, they put a fence up and called it a dog park - 35 feet in front of my property line,” said Robert Harris.
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Harris is one of a handful of residents who have taken their frustrations over the off-leash dog park to an attorney in the hopes of shutting it down for good.
The fenced-in portion of Olympia Park opened to dogs and their owners in 2012, and Harris said it’s been nothing but trouble ever since then.
City officials said Tuesday that the pet area, which has been closed in order for new grass to grow, will reopen Friday.
For Serafin Oto, it’s welcomed news. He told Channel 11 News that he brings his children and dogs to the park every day and doesn’t understand what the fuss is all about.
“It's a park inside of a park, so what else do you want? If they put in a tennis court would they be against that too?” Oto said.
Upset residents said it’s not the people but rather the noise from the pets and the waste that gets left behind that has them demanding it be moved.
“The mayor promised it’d be moved and that has not been done yet,” Harris said.
Mayor Bill Peduto’s office said city leaders are working to develop a long-term plan for Olympia Park, but in the meantime, the off-leash dog area will remain where it is.
Channel 11 News learned that officials have considered relocating the off-leash dog area further down into a wooded portion of the park, but no time frame was given on if and when that decision will be made.