Anti-tethering ordinance
The Raleigh City Council voted unanimously to pass a dog tethering ordinance after a March 3 public hearing. The new law will go into effect July 1. See earlier RPR coverage for the full text of the ordinance.
Thirty-three emails were submitted and eight people spoke in support of Raleigh adopting an anti-tethering ordinance. Pet owners, vet clinic employees, and animal shelter volunteers spoke of their experience on how dog tethering can lead to cruelty, health problems, property value demise and pet overpopulation. One animal law attorney congratulated the council for being proactive on this issue.
Several speaking on behalf of anti-tethering also urged council to take time into consideration when informing the residents of Raleigh, recognizing that pet owners will need to make arrangements for alternative methods such as fencing. City Attorney Tom McCormick responded to Mayor Meeker’s request to consider amending a minimum square footage to animal closure requirements by siting Wake County’s Animal Control Ordinance for Adequate Food, Water and Shelter.
Bike plan moves forward
The Raleigh City Council approved the comprehensive bicycle plan after a public hearing. The plan calls for almost 450 miles of greenways and bicycle lanes, with about two dozen priority projects on the table to make the city more bicycle friendly.
Raleigh’s bicycle comprehensive plan received 838 comments from citizens, exceeding input received by both Durham and Charlotte-Mecklenberg County on their plans. Following the final plan presentation key recommendations were presented to Council from Raleigh bicycle clubs, 1304 Bikes and biking commuters.
One of the most stressed elements of concern was that of mandatory education between cyclists and motorists. Another issue of concern was over bicycle helmet laws. Raleigh currently operates under state law, which only requires bikers under 16 years of age to wear a helmet.
Alan Wiggs, a Citizens Advisory Council chair from North Raleigh, expressed concern about greenways closing at sunset, which means they should not be included in the commuting network.
Council referred the issues brought up during the hearing to the Comprenhensive Planning Committee for review.
March 3 Bicycle Comp Plan Presentation
For more information on the Raleigh City Council, check out the Raleigh Public Record’s live Twitter feed.
