Greensburg's recreation department is considering lifting its longstanding prohibition on dogs and other pets at Lynch Field.

Leashed pets are allowed at St. Clair Park and the city's playgrounds, but they always have been banned at Lynch Field and Mt. Odin Park, said recreation Director Frank Lehman.

Lately, park employees have noticed many people bringing their dogs to the field. Those who do are never ticketed or cited, just asked to leave, according to Lehman.

“We were discussing that the other morning, and it came to be brought up, what would it hurt if we possibly allowed having dogs down there, as long as it was controlled, on a leash, and obviously with the proper cleanup,” he said.

“No pets in the park” signs are posted around the field, but they have been faded by time and are occasionally targets of vandalism, said Trudy Ivory, who manages Kirk S. Nevin arena at the field.

The field is the terminus for the Five Star Trail, which allows pets, but dog walkers are supposed to take their animals directly from their cars to the trail without lingering in the park, Ivory said.

“I think that's kind of confusing for them, knowing that they can use the Five Star Trail, but as soon as they get down here, they have to continue on right to their car,” she said.

She posted on Facebook on Monday asking Greensburg residents whether they wanted to allow dogs in the park. She has since removed the post, but said there were more than 15 responses, all of them in favor of making the park pet-friendly.

“I didn't have any negative comments at all,” she said.

August Casadei, a Crabtree resident who was taking a walk on Tuesday afternoon at Lynch Field, said he would love to take his dog to the field with him.

“A dog on a leash, it's not causing any problems. I mean, think about it,” he said.

Casadei walks his dog on nearby trails or takes him to the off-leash dog park at Twin Lakes Park in Hempfield.

Penn Township also has a dog park, and Hempfield is planning to build one within the next few years.

Ivory said she loves taking her dog to Twin Lakes and would welcome the decision to open Lynch Field to dogs, as long as everybody follows the rules about keeping their pets on leashes and cleaning up after them.

“Everyone is smart enough to understand that there has to be guidelines,” she said.

Lehman said those guidelines need to be hammered out. He also supports allowing dogs at the field but said it's not a sure thing.

“It's just open for discussion now. We're not ready to make any decisions. We're just trying to get a feel for it,” he said.

The topic would need to come before city council for approval. The recreation department would need to work out the specifics of the new regulations, like maximum leash length, and figure out whether to add cleanup stations with plastic bags at the field, Lehman said.

Even if dogs are allowed at the field, they are unlikely to be allowed at Mt. Odin because of the golf course there, he said.

The department is looking for feedback from the community to see what residents and park patrons think of sharing the space with four-legged companions.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6646 or jtierney@tribweb.com.

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