04/29/2021
The City of Ithaca and Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) has recently made the community a bit more pet-friendly.
Recently, the City of Ithaca Common Council approved an ordinance change to allow leashed dogs on the Commons. Before the vote, the city code prohibited dogs on the pedestrian walkway with a couple of exceptions: leashed service animals were allowed, and people who live or work on the Commons could obtain permission to walk their dogs to and from their residence or workplace.
Dogs allowed on Commons, waste stations installed on pedestrian mall.
To make the dog walking experience on the Commons even more enjoyable, the city’s Department of Public Works installed dog waste bag stations on the pedestrian walkway. Four green dispensers containing compostable bags are located on poles on the pedestrian mall, making it more convenient for dog-walkers to clean up after their pets. It’s an initiative that will help keep sidewalks clean of animal feces.
The DIA provided the funding for the waste stations.
“This was a collaborative effort between us and the city to help promote responsible and respectable ways to pick up after your pet while they’re walking around the community. We have provided compostable bags to help the pet owners keep our pedestrian mall dog-litter free. All the dog owner has to do is use one of the bags to pick up the pet waste, place the bag in one of the nearby trash cans, and we’ll take care of it from there,” says DIA Executive Director Gary Ferguson.
For more information about the dog waste bag stations and other DIA initiatives, visit downtownithaca.com.
