WMG Volume 3 • Issue 14 July 20, 2016
Wilton Manors Gazette
Event
Community
Pets to be Used to Curtail Park Sex
What Will the New 'Drive' Look Like? Designs coming in
By Michael d’Oliveira
Woof & Wine is partly to attract dog owners with their pets to Colohatchee Park and partly to deter those who come to the park for sex. Scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m., the event will feature wine and appetizers, vendors, giveaways and raffles. Attendees are also encouraged to bring food. Patrick Cann, director of the Leisure Services Department, hopes the event will bring in new as well as existing park users and make people more comfortable with Colohatchee. The more the park’s used by dog owners, said Caan, the less it will be used for sex. “Activity, in terms of programming, certainly helps alleviate the problem,” said Caan. Over the last 10 to 15 years, the park has gained a reputation as a place where gay men go to cruise and have sex with each other on the boardwalk, in the bathroom and other parts of the park. Gay and straight residents alike have expressed dismay at that unwanted reputation. In one of the most recent examples, two men were arrested on May 12 by an undercover detective for fondling each other on the boardwalk. According to police, the two men came to the park to meet each other. They were charged with
By Michael d’Oliveira
lewd behavior and exposing sexual organs. Resident Michael Rajner has repeatedly criticized commissioners for charging dog park owners a permit fee while the park is still used for sex. “Perhaps the city should start issuing permits for those who want to engage in public sex on the boardwalk – just think of the money that could be raised to improve the park,” wrote Rajner sarcastically on Facebook on June 25. Mayoral candidate Boyd Corbin has made cleaning up Colohatchee one of his campaign platforms. “Safer parks for kids & dog owners – stop bathroom sex at Colohatchee Park,” reads his website. “I checked in on Colohatchee Park on Sunday and Monday. Both days there were 5 people hanging out on the boardwalk waiting to have sex in the bathroom. I talked to a few dog walkers there. One said that nothing has changed since she has been going there. Another said there's only half the people waiting to have sex in the bathrooms. Either way it's definitely not a place you'd want to bring your children. And it's still a creepy place to go to walk your dog,” wrote Corbin on Facebook on June 22. Dog owners, who have not registered yet, can do so at the event. The normal rules of the park will be in effect during the event.
WMG
For more information, call 954-390-2130.
It’s your choice. That’s what Dwayne Darbonne, from Metro Consulting Group, told commissioners during his Wilton Drive presentation on July 12. Darbonne, a consultant working with the Florida Department of Transportation, presented two possible concepts to the commission last week. The concepts involve reducing Wilton Drive from four lanes to two to make the street more pedestrian and business friendly, similar to Las Olas Boulevard. “This is your vision,” Darbonne said. “You can’t do the infrastructure and engineering without knowing what the future is.” Although the Wilton Manors officials have unanimously expressed support for narrowing the street, they want more input from residents and business owners before a final decision is made on the design. Both concepts involve shade trees, adding parking spaces and widening sidewalks. The first concept would widen certain sidewalks on both sides of the street. The second would only widen sidewalks on the west side. Officials say public buses, taxis and ride sharing services will also be considered in the design. Darbonne estimates only about two dozen parking spaces will be added. “We’ll do a few more, but it’s not going to be substantial.” Proponents of narrowing the street had hoped for 80 to 100. But the whole street won’t be redesigned.
Darbonne said only portions will be changed to have “the greatest impact, the greatest benefit” with the $2.8 million construction budget provided. But if commissioners want to add additional landscaping or other features after construction is completed, it will have to be funded by the city or through other sources, such as grants. Doug Blevins, chair of the Wilton Drive Improvement District [WDID], said that board would use its funding to help pay for improvements to Wilton Drive. Previously, the majority of WDID members have stated they were in favor of supporting the lane reduction. WDID is funded by an additional tax levied on Wilton Drive property owners. It was approved by a majority of owners. Previously, commissioners were against the lane reduction because the money would have had to come from the city. But now that the cost to alter the street won’t be something the city has to pay for, commissioner support for the project has become, they say, a matter of safety. Fort Lauderdale is narrowing Northeast 4 Avenue from four lanes to two. Officials say that if Wilton Drive is four lanes and Northeast 4 Avenue is only two lanes that will encourage drivers to speed up once they get onto Wilton Drive. “I really see this project as the only way we will slow down traffic in Wilton Manors,” said Commissioner Tom Green. WMG
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