‘Be respectful’: Dog-related problems at Bird Rock park raise fears of possible closure

Despite continuing problematic behavior related to dogs at the Bird Rock Elementary School joint-use park — and the temporary closure of a nearby joint-use park because of similar behavior — there are no plans to close the school park to public use, according to Principal Eric Banatao. 

Last month, a joint-use park on the Crown Point Junior Music Academy’s Pacific Beach campus was temporarily closed due to issues related to off-leash dogs, according to published reports, including one by CBS-TV/8.

Signs posted on the locked gate read “Notice to all dog owners: This is a joint-use field shared with an elementary school and after-school youth sports. Dogs are not allowed to be off leash. Please clean up after your dogs! Kids are stepping in dog feces and tracking it into their classrooms. This is unacceptable.”  

Soon after, a post on social media (which has since been deleted) warned that “the Bird Rock, PB Elementary and other joint-use parks will inevitably be closed due to off-leash dogs and irresponsible lawbreakers.” The post received dozens of comments. 

Bird Rock Elementary School has a joint-use field maintained by the city of San Diego through an agreement with the San Diego Unified School District. 

It is open to the public up to 30 minutes before the start of the school day and 30 minutes after the end of the school day. On weekends, holidays and other non-school days, the park is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The park has several signs saying all dogs on the premises must be leashed and that owners must pick up after their dogs. 

Nevertheless, there are ongoing problems with divots, dog waste and off-leash dogs on the field, Banatao said. 

“We continue to have an issue with dogs digging deep trenches,” he told the La Jolla Light. “Despite efforts to fill the holes from school staff and community member volunteers, inevitably the dug-out holes in the field continue. The holes pose hazards for kids at play, for our run club participants and for any other park-goers. We would presume that the holes are being dug while owners have the dog(s) off leash. We have reports and video footage of dogs running off leash, and community members [are] raising this as a concern.”

Some residents have said their children are “fearful of dogs, especially … larger dogs” and that the posted signs appear to be ignored, Banatao added. 

“Occasionally, dog waste is left on the field — perhaps another indication of dogs off leash,” he said. “Our school community wants all park users to abide by the city’s posted signage to reduce potholes on the field and to eliminate dog waste on school grounds. … Ultimately, we would wish that park users abide by our school ideals of ‘Be safe, be respectful, be responsible.’ If all community members demonstrated these school ideals as park users, we would not have unsafe hazards and unexpected hygiene issues on school grounds.”

The issues have been present for years. In the 2018-19 school year, parents reported 42 cases of children suffering twisted ankles and other injuries caused by uneven surfaces, deep divots and other hazards on the field. The field was resurfaced in 2019 and closed soon afterward due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It slowly reopened as pandemic restrictions were lifted. 

Despite the problems, Banatao said there have not been internal discussions about changing or halting public access to the park. 

But others remain concerned. 

During a recent Voice of San Diego podcast, San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, said he expected more joint-use fields to be closed if the problem behavior continues. 

“I think the school district is finally going to say ‘Enough is enough. We can’t risk the health of our students,’” LaCava said.