goose green fence

[nancysmum]

Apparently they are going to start taking it down tomorrow and should take a few days. alas green fence, you were well loved!

[????]

Don't take a fence

*gets coat leaves quickly

[p_in_ed]

Where did you find out nancysmum?

Let the "Bring back the Fence" campaign begin.

The council have had the whole winter to run their misconceived trial period, and yet nothing was done.

And now, just as spring and summer beckon, and the prospect of sitting out and playing on the grass returns, the dogs are given free rein and the park returns to the squalid, unpleasant state it was in before the fence arrived.

[Reg Smeeton]

This is a Keynsian idea. 100 men are employed to take down a fence and then put it back again a few months later, injecting much needed cash into the economy via their earnings, and hence ending the credit crunch. Brilliant thinking.

[p_in_ed]

Ah, perceptive Reg. So this will be a great Roosevelt style public work. The Hoover Dam of south London. We could get a modern day Diego Rivera to come and repaint the William Blake mural. And the Goose Green Fence will be visited for generations to come by people who want to see the project that sparked global financial recovery.

[p_in_ed]

A beautiful day. Clear blue skies. A sense of spring in the air. And the Goose Green fence is coming down.

Just as we all feel like returning to the Green after a long and muddy winter, the dogs will get there first.

The contractors are on-site this morning. The first panel has been removed.

The update on the Notice Board says that the reason for the trial period is to look at how the Green is used when there is no dividing fence, and also to see if different users (I guess they mean dogs and people) could use this space compatibly.

I can tell them how the Green is used when there is no dividing fence. For most of my time in the area the Green has had no dividing fence. Dogs use the whole Green. And the whole Green becomes squalid and unpleasant. I remember it well. Prior to the dog free area, I would never have dreamt of using the Green for anything other than walking across, as a short cut from one side to the other. It?s been great for the last few years to see it become a genuine community resource, a green space that everyone could enjoy.

The notice board promises warden enforcement and fixed penalty notices. Let?s hope this becomes a reality, and that we do see a step change in the behaviour of dogs and dog walkers.

[boosboss]

WooHoo off to let my dogs crap all over it >:D

[ianr]

p_in_ed Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Ah, perceptive Reg. So this will be a great

> Roosevelt style public work. The Hoover Dam of

> south London. We could get a modern day Diego

> Rivera to come and repaint the William Blake

> mural. And the Goose Green Fence will be visited

> for generations to come by people who want to see

> the project that sparked global financial

> recovery.

Don't leave it all to public enterprise. Does ED not have its own Joseph Williamson? http://www.williamsontunnels.com/intro.htm

[honk]

ianr Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> p_in_ed Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Ah, perceptive Reg. So this will be a great

> > Roosevelt style public work. The Hoover Dam of

> > south London. We could get a modern day Diego

> > Rivera to come and repaint the William Blake

> > mural. And the Goose Green Fence will be

> visited

> > for generations to come by people who want to

> see

> > the project that sparked global financial

> > recovery.

>

> Don't leave it all to public enterprise. Does ED

> not have its own Joseph Williamson?

> http://www.williamsontunnels.com/intro.htm

I used to live in the old Matlock Pub across from the entrance to those. Used to go quite far in at night armed only with a marine torch. Pertrifying. I think there's a visitor's centre / lights in them now.

[Moos]

Won't make any difference. Every time I've been in the dog-free area I've come across dogshit.

[nancysmum]

One of the mums at St Johns told me she was on to the council re the fence (asking them to think again about taking it down) and she received an email telling her the fence was coming down - that's how i found out. I have to walk across the green everyday with anywhere up to 6 children, (3 toddlers, 3 4/5 year olds). I look forward to playing 'dodge the crap / mind the over friendly staffie/alsation/shi-itsu with them. No doubt in the summer we can go to the peckham park 'no dogs' area ... oh wait a minute, people let their dogs go in there too! nice!

[????]

I think dogs should only shit in the pivacy of their own gardens...infact i THINK THEY SHOULD ONLY BE WALKED THERE TOO....i want the world to be just so for me

[honk]

Anytime I see an owner let their dog do anything like that I simply pick it up and drop-kick it into traffic.

If everyone did this there wouldn't be a problem.

[nancysmum]

honk - you must end up cleaning your shoes a lot!

[????]

honk is a diehard sandal wearer

[honk]

NB If you're going to kick a dog into a road you need a good pair of boots.

It would ruin your sandals.

[nancysmum]

well then lets hope he washes his feet. if he has a jesus complex, perhaps all the mothers who are sad that the fence has come down can clean his feet with their tears and dry his feet with their hair? I'd offer to but i've just had all my hair cut off!

[Administrator]

Please stay on topic

[p_in_ed]

A great article in the Guardian today, and perfectly timed with the removal of the fence:

The Mess We're In

"Over the last 12 months, 50-plus parish, town and district councils have enacted orders denying dogs access to open land - walkies and the attendant business will have to be performed on the town's streets; on a rough and unwelcoming patch of ground on the edge of town; or a car journey away in the countryside."

"Quite right too, thinks Claire Gunningham, mother of two children at the school. "I know lots of responsible dog owners, people who pick up every time," she says. "But I'm sorry, it's just not compatible, is it, to have dogs pooing on the ground and then kids coming along and playing on it? It's horrible, absolutely horrible. Really disgusting. And unfair. If it was humans there'd be uproar. Dogs we just let get away with it."

Southwark Parks seem to be swimming against the tide in removing the fence and expecting people and dogs to co-exist.

The set up we had before, with a fence dividing dog-walking and dog free areas, seemed like a very workable way for both communities to make use of the park. Bring back the fence.

The dog walkers will be grateful that they don't live in Geneva, where non-scoopers are fined ?1,700 for the first offence, and then ?8,000 for subsequent offences

[Mark]

So everyone agrees that the main problem is the dog pooh so shall we make that the common enemy? Not the fence, not the lack of fence, not the council, not Southwark Parks but the irresponsible and selfish dog owners who do not clear up after their dogs. They are the ones who cause the problem, a solution was tried and it caused an issue. The fence is in the process of coming down so whether you're happy or not, why not get together and focus on tackling the people who cause the "crime".

[victor]

The poo is the main problem - my own son was outraged this evening that he would now have to play football with more poo potentially everywhere.

But also, lots of children are terrified of dogs, particularly those not on a lead. So dogs and children sharing the same area freely is an issue.

[p_in_ed]

Mark Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> the main problem is the dog pooh so shall we make

> that the common enemy?

> Not the fence, not the lack of fence, not the

> council, not Southwark Parks

I agree Mark, the fence or lack of it is not the problem. But it did seem like a workable solution that allowed both dog walkers and others to use the Green together. The fence has gone though, and I wonder if there is any solution that allows both children and dogs to use the Green in any way that is acceptable to children and parents. I doubt it. Although the significant majority of dog walkers are responsible, those that aren't will always make it untenable that dogs and children should use the same area. I'd like to think there would be a radical change in behaviour among a minority of dog walkers. I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime, the children loose a spring and summer of carefree use of the Green while the experiment is conducted.

My own view is that in the absence of a fence, the only practical way forward is to exclude dogs from Goose Green, and require dog walkers to go up the road to Peckham Rye.

[Louisa]

Maybe the next issue on the green will be inconsiderate yummies changing nappied and chucking them onto the grass in the hope that a common/working class person may trip up on it.

More council funds wasted testing out what is best, who would ever have guessed we were heading into a deep dark recession?

Louisa.

[kristymac1]

I agree very much with Victor - whilst dog poo is a major problem on the green there is also the issue of unleashed dogs and (unleashed) children in very close proximity. Don't get me wrong, I don't think most dogs will attack a child completely unprovoked, the issue is about managing both dogs and children whilst giving them the freedom to run around in the fresh air (despite dog poo) - I honestly dont think you can do that in an open place without segregation.

I was a fairly 'prolific' poster on the last thread about the fence, and emailed the appropriate people at the Council accordingly, so it'll be no surprise to most that I am very disappointed that they went ahead with the removal of the fence.

Anyone know how long the trial period is for?

[first mate]

p-in-ed,

I think we have to accept that Goose Green is not there for the sole use of parents and children but for the whole community and that includes dog owners, some of whom are elderly and cannot get as far as the Rye. There is a fenced off play area for the exclusive use of children opposite.

Older children who want to play ball etc.. have only to walk five minutes up the road to Peckham Rye, where there is much more space and again, fenced off areas for children. I should add that in and around all of these spaces I notice as much broken glass as dog poo but there never seems to be any concern about that.

Litter is an urban problem of which dog poo is a part. There will, alas, always be those who litter without a thought or care for others. A little bit of vigilance on the part of park and community wardens as well as a few fines may help the problem on Goose Green.

I don't believe a ban on dogs would work because the kind of people who litter with broken glass, discarded food and gum, food wrappings etc, and who don't pick up, are the types who will carry on doing just what they want to do.