Pet waste fouls Alabama Hill trails

A city-sponsored pet waste disposal station lines the Railroad Trail while dog walkers look on.

Some residents say more of these stations are needed to address the issue of excess pet waste on the trails.

Residents of Alabama Hill and the city are at odds over whose duty it is to clean up pet droppings on neighborhood trails.
 
“It’s terrible,” said Rick Nichols, an Alabama Hill resident who frequently walks his dogs around the neighborhood, adding he often sees people not picking up pet waste. “People have got to be responsible as pet owners.”
 
Dean Haskins, president of the Alabama Hill Neighborhood Association, has heard multiple complaints from residents about this fetid matter. The problem is rooted in a lack of pet waste disposal station and garbage cans on the trail system and throughout the neighborhood, he says.
 
“The lack of stations providing the bags means pet owners don’t clean up after their pets,” said Haskins. “The lack of garbage cans stops people from getting rid of their bags of waste, and so they litter the trails with the bags.”
 
According to city documents, the Alabama Hill neighborhood has three city-sponsored pet waste disposal stations, which provide pet owners with waste bags and information on how to properly dispose of excrement. The furthest distance between stations in the neighborhood, all located on the Railroad Trail, is approximately one mile. There are a total of 13 of these stations in various parks and trails across the city, with some stations in other parts of Bellingham less than one tenth of a mile apart.
 
Marvin Harris, operations manager for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, says the city recognizes the problem yet lacks resources to add more pet waste disposal stations and garbage cans.
 
“Most users are good stewards and pack it in and pack it out, however there are others who do not follow that process,” he said. “With limited resources, staff has located trash cans in areas in activity centers where the trash receptacles can be economically serviced. It is difficult to place trash cans along trails because of the lineal distances and the points on entry.”
 
Haskins is aware that the city is unable to further address this issue so the neighborhood association has taken up the matter itself.  
 
“It’s difficult for the city to commit to any type of proposal that requires city-paid personnel to maintain, such as emptying dog waste cans,” he said, adding the association has paid for a pet waste disposal station near St. Clair Park. “We actually need a garbage can now and we are working on that issue.”  
 
Nichols, the neighborhood resident who walks his dog along the trails, says the city doesn’t needs to get involved in this issue and emphasizes the individual responsibility of pet owners.
 
More pet waste disposal stations “might help, but why should the city have to pay for it?” he asks. “If you have a dog, that’s your responsibility to pick up after it.”
 
According to the Bellingham Municipal Code, failing to remove pet waste from public property can result in a misdemeanor with a maximum $500 fine. City documents warn of health and environmental risks associated with not disposing of pet waste. These include transmission of parasites and bacteria such as Nematode, Giardia and E. coli possibly present in the waste and contamination to local water supply through neighborhood drainage systems.  
 
“In the warmer months, residents say the pet waste on the ground attracts flying insects,” says Haskins, adding that this may be keeping people away from the trails. “They don’t want to come in contact with that.”
 
Harris says the city is aware of the large number of residents who frequent the trails and praises pet owners who are responsible.
 
“The city’s trail system is very popular and many of the users bring their dogs,” he said. “City trails run through many neighborhoods and we have similar problems in those neighborhoods with users not picking up after their dogs or carrying away their waste. We appreciate the assistance from park users and responsible pet owners in picking up and packing away the waste.”
 
According to city documents, the Railroad Trail in Alabama Hill had an average of 2,681 users per week between March and August of this year. The 3.2 mile trail stretches from Memorial Park in the Sunnyland neighborhood to Bloedel Donovan Park in the Silver Beach neighborhood.