Dog Parks Among the Top Amenities
A nice story from Lexington, KY:
Dog parks are now one of the top 10 most utilized amenities in Lexington’s parks and are one of the top 10 most requested features, according to a parks survey conducted last year, Gorton said.
The dog parks are in great demand and are in constant use year-round, Cowen said. “I’m always amazed when I go to all of our dog parks that there ever were naysayers that this would not work, that it was a waste of time and resources.”
Full article here.
Idea for park access: electronic fob
Here’s an interesting article about a new park in Springfield, MO:
Once dog owners and their dogs register, entry to the park will be through a $25 annual fee for each dog, McGrath said. Weekend visitors will be charged $10.
Entry for owners and their dogs will be controlled at gates with electronic locks, she said.
“They will be issued a fob,” she said. “They will wave it in front of the gate, and the gate will open.”
Dogs and their people will enter an enclosed area where dogs can be unleashed and taken to a 1 1/2-acre area for small and older dogs or a 4-acre area for more active dogs, McGrath said.
Dog parks improve quality of life
Folks in Tulsa are enthusiastic about their new dog park and say it makes a big improvement in the quality of life of residents:
Just one month after opening, the city’s first off-leash dog park — Joe Station Bark Park, located at 2279 Charles Page Blvd. — has been declared a “tremendous success” by officials and park users alike.
Some weekday evenings Joe Station draws up to 100 people, and officials estimate that more than 1,000 visited over Labor Day weekend.
Joe Station is the result of recycling an unused city-owned youth baseball field into what some say is becoming one of the most popular places to go, said Herb Beattie, chairman of the Tulsa Bark Park Task Force.
Beattie, who led an effort to create a dog park, said members of neighborhood associations near Joe Station are pleased with the dog park and think property values will increase in their respective areas.
He said such parks are a quality-of-life issue for cities.
Dog parks are the new singles bars
This article describing a park in Utah illustrates the benefits of dog parks in terms of building community:
While the park certainly offers an ideal environment for Washington County’s canines, Henderson said it also serves as an excellent venue for dog owners to congregate
When she moved to St. George three years ago, Henderson said she had trouble meeting new people, but things began to change when the St. George Dog Park opened in July, and she has since gained the friendship of many fellow park visitors.
“Where am I going to go? Certainly not to a bar,” She said. “(The park) is important for people and dogs.”
The movie Dog Park (released in 1998) highlighted the singles aspect, so this is certainly nothing new. But in a suburban setting like Maynard there are few venues for meeting new people, so a dog park might be a welcome new gathering place for the community.
