If you’re one of the many humans being walked by your dog along Beach Drive, you may be wondering when the Mutt Mitt boxes will be refilled. You’re going to have “hold it” until at least year-end according to the Seattle Parks people I’ve talked to. Lack of funding and having to prioritize needs will be the theme for the remainder of this year.
One thought is to load up our local boxes with those biodegradable produce bags you get from grocery shopping. These boxes are located along Beach Drive at Cormorant Park, Mee-Kwa-Mooks, Lowman Beach, and the north entrance to Lincoln Park. I’d eat my (clean) shoe if Seattle Parks funds bags over employees in the foreseeable future.
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
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I asked Parks about this a couple weeks ago after somebody pointed out a sign at Lincoln Park that implied the bags were no longer being stocked. The reply I got:
“In 2010 when Seattle Parks evaluated expenses in response to budget cuts, the annual cost to stock dog-waste-bag dispensers was about $60,000. (That’s just the cost of the bags, not the labor costs to restock.) Since then, we have removed some dispensers, and left other dispensers (mostly at our off-leash areas) to be restocked by volunteers. In West Seattle, we have stocked dispensers at Lincoln Park, along Beach Drive, at Alki, and in the Longfellow Creek area. Of course, ultimately, it’s each dog owner’s responsibility to dispose of waste properly.” David Takami of Parks said they were still stocking the dispensers, but at a reduced rate.
Thanks for the info Tracy. It’s been about 2 weeks since the last refill on Beach Drive. We’ll wait a bit longer before cramming bags in the dispensers.