Anyone who brings their dogs to walk or play along the Bangor Waterfront may soon have to keep them on a leash.
Bangor already requires pets to be leashed in a few public areas, including Brown Woods, Cascade Park and some sections of the Rolland Perry City Forest. Now the City Council is considering whether to add the half-mile of waterfront between Sea Dog Brewing Company and Dutton Street to that list. The group is scheduled to vote on the proposal next Monday.
There has been an increase in traffic to the waterfront in recent years — particularly with the presence of food trucks and events in the summer — and city officials have received some complaints about unleashed dogs running and jumping on people and cars, Animal Control Officer Trisha Bruen told councilors at a Nov. 18 meeting.
Bruen also told councilors about “one very serious situation where a dog did attack another dog and did some serious medical damage. So for that reason, I’m really looking for that area to be leash-required.”
At the same meeting, City Manager Cathy Conlow said that it would make sense to implement the change soon, so that it’s in place by early next year when the city begins a two-year project to install a 3.8-million gallon wastewater tank along the waterfront.
The proposal also makes sense because the waterfront is an accessible area to people with mobility challenges “who might be more intimidated by dogs,” City Councilor Gretchen Schaefer said.
Maine law does not specifically require that pets be kept on leashes when they are taken out of the home, but it does require owners to keep them under control and allows for communities to adopt their own leash requirements.
Among other places that require dogs to be kept on leashes are downtown Ellsworth, the University of Maine in Orono and Acadia National Park