Editor,

I mistakenly thought that the Burlingame City Council had resolved the Washington Park off-leash matter last year, so I was dismayed to read in the Feb. 23 edition of the Daily Journal that Peninsula off-leash advocates are still at it. It's deplorable that a city as park-poor as Burlingame is even considering making the prime hours of its only respectable park open to off-leash dogs. Why doesn't it follow the lead of other cities and establish a fenced park area for this purpose?

This alternative offers several significant advantages to turning over the whole park during prime time:

1). Dogs longing to be off-leash and their owners can visit the park at any time;

2). It's easier to enforce than specifying off-leash hours (the Burlingame Police have better things to do);

3). Dogs that are aggressive or like to chase are isolated from children and joggers; and

4). Dog poop that inevitably accompanies off-leash dogs is limited in its range.

A little "can-do" spirit by the Parks Department would go a long way.

Mike Reitsma

Burlingame