Government

Officials Consider Installing Cameras in Irwin Park To Catch Irresponsible Dog Owners

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While the New Canaan Police Department cannot spare an officer to patrol Irwin Park exclusively, authorities are recommending use of motion-activated trail cameras to help catch irresponsible dog owners who don’t pick up after their pets, officials said Wednesday night. According to Sally Campbell, chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission, video footage that matches dog owners with their cars would be the “best way” to identify violators. Police have “asked us to explore with IT what time of camera to use and the only a type of camera we are able to use is a game camera,” Campbell said during the commission’s regular meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. “So we acquired a few of those and are trying to figure out how to best use them.”

The comments come as the commission explores ways to address a nasty problem at Irwin Park—as well as Waveny, among other public places—where people with dogs do not pick up after the animals. The commission formed a committee to work on the problem.

Government

‘I Am Very Frustrated’: Parks Officials Address Court-Booking Problem Caused by Discourteous Platform Tennis Players

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Parks officials say they’re addressing a problem where permit-holders for New Canaan’s platform tennis courts at Waveny are placing reservations online and then fail to show up or else cancel at the last minute, leaving them vacant and preventing others from playing. A municipal recreation program manager has contacted all permit-holders about the problem and some are responding that they didn’t understand the consequences of their actions, members of the Parks & Recreation Commission said at their most recent meeting. “I am very frustrated by it because it’s hard to get matches,” commissioner Jason Milligan said at the Feb. 14 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. “You have basically a two-week period to schedule each one and it gets busy and you have to basically wake up early as the thing opens and book it for the busy slots and if you do not do that, you can’t get a slot.

Government

Parks Officials Approve Waveny ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ with New Registration System

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Parks officials at a recent meeting voted unanimously to support more tightly controlled Caffeine & Carburetors auto enthusiasts gatherings this summer and fall at Waveny. The June 17 and Oct. 21 events will see a new online registration system for classic and specialty “show” cars as well as designated parking in the New Canaan High School lots for spectators of the popular event—steps designed to address concerns from town officials when some 1,500 cars descended on Waveny for the most recent Caffeine & Carburetors there in the fall of 2016. Parks & Recreation Commission Chair Sally Campbell said at the group’s Feb. 14 meeting that an agreement between the town and event founder Doug Zumbach—owner of the eponymous gourmet coffee shop on Pine Street where Caffeine & Carburetors was founded—has been updated to reflect the changes.

Animal 411

Local Woman To Place ‘Shame on You’ Flags on Deserted Dog Feces in Irwin Park

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Parks officials on Wednesday night heard from a New Canaan woman who has a new idea for shaming those who walk dogs in Irwin Park and leave the animals’ feces behind, a continual problem that’s reared up recently. Jean Scheidl said she would plant 4-by-6-inch vinyl ‘Shame On You’ flags on each individual pile of excrement left at the popular park in order to send a message to the irresponsible dog owners who leave them. At last count, Scheidl said she spotted and a photographed 31 such messes on and around the Flexi-pave walk around the park’s perimeter. “I think something has to be done because it is not pleasant, it really isn’t,” Scheidl told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their regular meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. “I think when people come back and see that it is not right then they maybe will stop doing it,” she said.

Around Town

Parks Officials Turn To Public for Solutions to Dog Waste Problem at Irwin, Waveny

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Saying an ongoing problem has gotten especially bad lately, parks officials are calling for public input to address how to get those who walk dogs at Irwin and Waveny Parks to pick up after their pets. Sally Campbell, chairman of the Parks & Recreation Commission, said she’s received multiple complaints from residents and will put the matter at the volunteer group’s Feb. 14 meeting. “This year has been really bad,” Campbell told NewCanaanite.com. “What I would like to do is say, ‘What are the solutions?’ and talk about maybe just having dogs in one park or walking where they’re visible so people feel they have to pick up after them.”

Those with dogs at Waveny and Irwin either do not pick up after their dogs at all, or else pick up the waste and then discard the full bags off-trail or piled on a rock or something similar, Campbell said, which “is more unsightly.”

In the past, it’s been suggested that the town install more garbage receptacles deeper into trails where people are walking, so that they can dispose of the dog waste.