By Adam Swift
While crowds of people flock to Revere Beach during the summer, dogs aren’t allowed to get their paws in the sand.
At Monday night’s city council meeting, Ward 4 Councillor Paul Argenzio introduced a motion asking the DCR to look at options for allowing dogs along at least a small portion of the beach in the summer. Currently, dogs are not allowed on the beach from April through October.
“I was contacted by quite a few dog owners that enjoy going on the beach with their dogs,” said Argenzio.
His original motion suggested allowing dogs on a portion of the beach from Beach Street to Revere Street during the summer. But Argenzio said he was open to other suggestions for either areas of the beach or shortening the time dogs are banned on the beach.
“I would be amenable to anything the DCR could come up with for just a small portion of the beach that would be designated dog-friendly,” said Argenzio.
The councillor said that dogs would still have to remain on their leashes and that dog owners would have to be responsible for them.
Several councillors raised some concerns with Argenzio’s motion.
Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya said she loves dogs, but that the focus during the short summer months should be on allowing families to enjoy the beach.
“Some of the kids may be afraid of the dogs and some of the dogs may be aggressive,” she said. “I want the families to be able to enjoy the short time that they do have on the beach and not worry if a dog is going to come up to them.”
Guarino-Sawaya said the DCR could look at possibly allowing dogs before 9 a.m. and after 7 p.m. at the beach.
Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky said the residents near the area outlined by Argenzio were opposed to the idea.
Argenzio said the boundaries were only a suggestion, and that he was just looking to see if a small area of the beach could be declared dog friendly.
Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna noted that she introduced a motion last year requesting that the city and DCR look at the possibility of constructing a dog park at an area of the beach not many people use near Broadsound Avenue.
“It’s a place no one uses and it could be utilized for a really good dog park,” said McKenna.
Guarino-Sawaya and Novoselsky cast the two votes against requesting the DCR look into making a portion of the beach dog friendly during the summer.
Council President Anthony Cogliandro, on the other hand, said he believed that dogs should be allowed along the entire beach all year long.
