Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the name of Teona Johnson, which was initially reported inaccurately.

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By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — A dog owner whose pet was killed in traffic after running through an opening in the stone wall at Winslow Park wants town officials to close gaps in the wall before another tragedy occurs.

Westporter Teona Johnson asked the Parks and Recreation Commission on Wednesday to patch up several openings in the wall to maintain safety for other dogs running off leash in the designated area of the park.

Johnson’s dog suffered fatal injuries after being struck by a car on Compo Road North when it ran though an opening in the wall bordering the park’s off-leash area.

“We’re the family who lost the dog,” she said at the commission’s virtual meeting, sitting with her young son. “It’s a very dangerous situation” having a break in the wall “so close to the off-leash area,” she said.

After several dog owners asked that the wall openings be closed following the accident, the commission discussed several options.

The panel ultimately approved plans to close up three breaks in the stone wall in the area where dogs are allowed to roam off leash. The park has three different designations: one section where dogs are not permitted; an area where dogs must be leashed, and a third section where dogs may be unleashed but are supposed to be under the control of handlers.

The adopted plan will block three wall breaks in the unleashed area only. It calls for installing split-rail fencing backed by nearly invisible mesh fencing in the openings to prevent dogs from slipping through the new wooden fence, with a pedestrian gate added at each of the wall breaks, explained Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Fava, who presented the plan to the commission.

Other alternative methods to close off the openings, such as using steel fencing or continuing the stone wall to close up the openings, would be cost prohibitive she said.

“It’s actually not a dog park. It’s a park with a designated dog leash area,” Fava said, and should be open and inviting to everyone, not just dog owners.

Several dog owners, including Representative Town Meeting member Jessica Bram, District 6, were in favor of closing up the breaks. “It’s not just about the dogs. A dog running out could cause a traffic accident out there,” she said.

Westport resident Brian O’Malley said the unsafe situation should be remedied by blocking all the breaks in the wall, including openings where dogs must be leashed. He noted that dogs sometimes can escape from their owners even when leashed.

Commission members discussed the possibility of closing up all the breaks around the park, but agreed that enclosing the entire park would make it less accessible, would negatively affect the beauty of the park and would be nearly impossible in places like the parking area.

“I don’t know where you stop,” said commission Chairman David Floyd. “What about the parking lot … those two opening off the Post Road. Do we close those, too?”Commission member Alec Stevens said it’s up to dog owners to keep their animals under control, especially in areas requiring leashes.

“It seems to be a very dog-friendly environment,” he said of Winslow Park, “but it’s a public park. There is a control for a dog — it’s called a leash.”

After discussing several options, the four commission members unanimously approved Fava’s plan to secure the three openings in the wall bordering the section for unleashed dogs.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and currently teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.