PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council will consider toughening up leash laws in city parks. Legislation recently introduced by Councilmember Jeffrey Young would increase penalties for people who let their dogs run free.
Young says constituents have told him about taking their child to a park to play, only to find dog feces on the playing field or to find an unknown dog with no restraint running around.
"I believe that those places should be for children to play, and anything that is prohibiting children to play, we have to figure out how to change those behaviors to allow our kids to play freely," Young said.
The councilmember's bill would codify park regulations about dogs being off leash and increase penalties for violations to $2,000. The bill has to get through committee hearings before Council can vote on it.