Can Southwark council please open gates at Peckham Rye Park earlier?

[Frankito]

Pls pls pls as my early morning doggy walk choices are very limited at 0645hrs.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Go in at the rhs of the gardeners' gates.

[Frankito]

Thanks for the advice - where is that exactly? Is it at the car park end near the cafe?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Yup. As you look towards the park from the car park, it is the gates two to the left of the info/lavatory block gates.

[DJKillaQueen]

The common part of the Rye is never closed...surely that is suitable enough for walking the dog?

[Frankito]

Thanks y'all...

[Pearson]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> The common part of the Rye is never

> closed...surely that is suitable enough for

> walking the dog?

____________________________________________

Exactly what i was thinking.

[davidh]

I would never take my doggies anywhere that was common!

[Frankito]

Mau I add, I live at the top end of East Dulwich ans so to trek akl the way round to the common will add time to my early morning walk. If they would open the Colyton Rd entrance early then that would be great...

[DJKillaQueen]

It's a five minute (ten at most) walk the extra distance to the common. The council pay the wardens to be on duty during the opening times. Last time I spoke with the Parks Manager they were facing cuts so I hardly think extending opening hours so that you can walk your dog is sensible, do you?

Edited to say that opening and closing times are set borough wide.

[Selma]

I could not agree more. Especially during the summer months where the sun has been up for hours before they open. The closing time is dependent on the time of the year, so why can?t the opening time be the same.

My child minder is at the other side of the park, and it would be lovely to be able to cycle through the lovely park in the morning. It makes it even more frustrating as there very often are staff inside before.

Once I managed to get into the park but once I went to the other side it was locked. Managed to get hold of someone and asked if he could open the gate. He refused until his watched said it was 8.

[DJKillaQueen]

But rightly so. Those are the times set by the council. They don't pay staff to be there at 6 am!

[Frankito]

Djkillaqueen, you are very harsh... I don't really know what budget cuts have to do with a simple request to have park gates open earlier.... If one gate is open at one side, not sure why they can't do one at the other..

[Pearson]

Frankito

You could always get a bus to the other end of the park which would save you the ten minute walk.

[DJKillaQueen]

The official opening hour for all Southwarks parks is 8am. The park has to be staffed by wardens when open. Those wardens are not paid to be there at 6 am. What part of staffing costs can you not understand? The park officially opens at 8...live with it. There's a perfectly good common a short walk away. And yes I do sense the whiff of a troll on this one!!!!!

[taper]

DJK

Trolling indeed, although not Frankito.

Southwark's parks don't open uniformly at 8. DP is open before then (at the village entrance). Ditto Belair. Burgess and Warwick Gardens are always open. Lambeth's Ruskin and Brockwell are open from about 7.

Southwark could, with good management, and at no extra cost, ensure they're all open roughly at sunrise throughout the year.

[Frankito]

Thank you Taper, wise words, exactly what I was after rather than a telling off from Aunty DJ... Please do excuse my ignorance but not sure what the whiff of the troll reference means.. Kindly elaborate whikst I endeavour to get my head around this staffing costs logic.

[DJKillaQueen]

Just think it's a bit indulgent to ask for a park to open earlier to walk your dog when there's a perfectly good common adjacent to use. And sunrise still repquires employing and paying staff for extra hours. In the current economic climate there are I think far more important things for a council to be spending their money on.

[Pearson]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> Just think it's a bit indulgent to ask for a park

> to open earlier to walk your dog when there's a

> perfectly good common adjacent to use. And sunrise

> still requires employing and paying staff for

> extra hours. In the current economic climate there

> are I think far more important things for a

> council to be spending their money on.

_______________________________________________

Hear hear!

[Frankito]

Crikey does everything really need to involve politics? Perhaps I am being unrealistic in not accepting that in order to enjoy the delights of walking my dog in the park rather than round the perimeter which is effectively what 80% of that experience would consist of. Call me a sinner...

If they can have one gate open super early what is wrong with having two at opposite ends of the park.... Surely that isn't enough to bring on a double dip recession in itself? How indulgent of me to ask for such a thing in such times of austerity. :)-D

[DJKillaQueen]

Yes it is...use the common or the one open gate and stop moaning. :))

[Frankito]

Lol... But I love to have a moan, don't deny me that too..

[The Nappy Lady]

It is only in recent years they have started to lock the gates, and frankly I don't see the point, given that there are still ways to get in, which plenty of people know about. And before anyone says it is to keep out the vandals...If they want to get in and do harm, they will do whether the gates are locked or not....if the gates are left open there are likely to be more people around which is surely a good thing?

I wish they'd just leave the gates open. It isn't just dog walkers who want to get into the park early - plenty of us are out running at 6am, and would rather be able to do so around the park than on the roads.

Fairly regularly the railings get bent or cut through to make access points, which they then have to pay someone to repair - if the gates were not locked in the first place there wouldn't be any need for the railings to be damaged.

I'm not sure it's fair to ask them to open the gates earlier, but I do think they could simply leave them unlocked at least during the summer months so we can all enjoy the park at the times we can get there, whether that be early, late or during the day......

[Frankito]

Liking your style Molly however I am sure if they were to stay open during summer months then someone like me would be pushing for them to be open all year round.. I still walk my dog in the winter, albeit rather briskly.

[The Nappy Lady]

Very true Frankito.....