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I have enjoyed life in Miami for the past 35 years. Since I came from a small town in the rural Midwest, Florida was a completely different environment for me.
We first lived in Coconut Grove, then South Miami, and finally Hammock Lakes. When we purchased our home in Hammock Lakes 24 years ago, it was a giant stretch for us. Hammock Lakes was a nice neighborhood with ranch-style homes on one acre lots. We made the decision to live in Hammock Lakes and have never looked back.
As a young mother with small children, having Matheson Hammock to roam in was a dream come true. We would see numerous families biking to the park, flying kites with their children and picnicking. A few had dogs but the visitors were mostly families out enjoying the park.
I am not sure exactly when it happened, but as my children got older, more and more people with dogs would be parking up and down Hammock Lake Drive, in people’s yards and vacant lots. They would open their car doors to let the dogs out to run without leashes through our neighborhood, then to the park.
Unfortunately, as more people came with their dogs, the less the park was able to be used by people that did not have dogs. Many dog owners did not leash their pets or clean up after them.
I remember one time I was on my back porch in the early evening playing ping pong with my daughters when they were suddenly frightened. To my surprise, when I turned around there was a giant white Afghan Hound about 2 feet behind me on my patio. Luckily, he was very friendly then finally went away. Another time, my neighbor was in her yard with her young daughter when she heard a man yelling at her to get in the house. There was a big dog running towards them with the dog’s owner following behind. Again, luckily, they got in the house and nothing happened.
I am very saddened that we residents are being falsely characterized as affluent people trying to exclude the general public. For me, this is far from the truth. I love seeing people in the park enjoying nature and socializing. But the park should not be for the exclusive use of people with their dogs. Everyone should be able to enjoy the park.
The planned renovated entrance on Old Cutler will be beautiful with a board walk so all people can enter and enjoy the park, including people with dogs. There will be a large fenced off area for dogs to safely use the park. I am not advocating keeping visitors out of the park. Everyone should be able to enjoy Matheson Hammock as the Matheson family intended.
Sincerely,
Lori Hickey
