Over the last year Denver Parks & Rec, with support from community members, has been conducting a Dog Park Master Planning & Policy Recommendation Process. The overall goals and objectives of this effort are intended to foster healthy relationships between dog owners, non-dog owners, and all park users. Improving Denver’s parks and open spaces to support and accommodate all users in a healthy, sustainable environment is important. The process is on-going and no final recommendations have been published at this time. However, a recent poll conducting by Councilwoman Carla Madison regarding how residents might feel about a dog park at City Park have led to some questions, which are hopefully answered below. As a note, no formal plans exist related to a dog park in City Park at this time.
The master planning process to date has included thorough analysis and evaluation of Denver’s existing dog parks in addition to significant investigation of local and national best practices to help guide the internal and external committees in making recommendations for Denver.
Needs identified by the committees indicate:
1) Priority in bringing Denver’s existing dog parks up to a more sustainable level of service and include amenities such as benches, water, and shade.
2) Significant gaps in dog park service area from roughly Colfax Ave. south down to Hampden Ave. and from roughly the east side of the I-25 corridor east to Quebec St. (Both internal and external committees recommended and agreed to Denver’s regional, fenced dog parks serving a roughly 2-mile radius area.)
3) Committee DRAFT recommended parks to be considered for 1 or 2 additional regional fenced dog parks to fill the gap areas in service include:
i. Garland Park
ii. Cook Park
iii. Harvard Gulch Park / Rosedale
iv. Veterans Park
4) Recommendation to consider off-leash hours / off-leash dog sites to fill any remaining gap areas of service, particularly in higher density neighborhoods. However, policies on how these areas would work need further development prior to discussing potential locations and sites. Policy items pertaining to off-leash hours / off-leash dog sites being discussed by committee include:
Entrance and Useage of Off-Leash Areas
Fee for Useage
Off-Leash Hours and Timing
Fines
Liability
The planning process is expected to recommend some draft policies and plans for public input this Fall 2009.
If you have any specific questions or concerns or would like to submit any suggestions, or if you would like to submit your interest in being involved with future partnership opportunities, please send an email to DenverDog@DenverGov.org. Denver Dog will continue to send periodic updates on upcoming events and the Dog Park Master Plan webpage will have additional information about the Dog Park Master Plan process. http://www.denvergov.org/parks/DenverDogParksMasterPlan/
I am not a dog owner but do try to understand the whole “dog” thing. My first reaction is to be against an off leash dog area in City Park. The dog parks I’ve seen in other Denver and Metro area parks have turn into nothing more than unattractive dirt areas. With the concentration of Dogs in the City Park area I feel that this will be the case.
I also know from reading the newspaper and from my own professional knowledge that these off leash dog areas are maintenance nightmares for Parks Departments. (i.e. many dog owners do not clean up after their dogs and the maintenance workers have to do it.)
Addtionally, I know park planners and maintenance workers (locally and nationally) that identify dogs as the number one threat to the quality our city parks.
But if we must then here are a few suggestions:
*Charge a small fee, say $20/yr to help with the maintenance
*Put the dog park near an already congested area of the park, say by the tennis courts. Parking will need to be expanded.
*Do it on a trial bases. If the area becomes a financal burden on the City then close it down. I believe the City has higher priorities for parks with it’s limited tax dollars then a dog park.
Three Dog Owner
I live in a neighborhood that has an off-leash dog park. It is heavily used–which is a good thing. However, it has become a dry dirt patch in the summer and a wet bog in the other wetter months. There is no drinking fountain for the dogs, so owners bring an array of gallon jugs and line them along the fence. I think the City of Denver needs to do a better job at maintaining their current off-leash parks before they even consider adding more: fenced or unfenced.
Dogs who use the off-leash parks are supposed to be licensed. I have NEVER seen any animal control officers ever in the dog park doing any kind of random checking to enforce that provision.
Also, dogs are to be on leash until in the fenced area. I have called animal control a number of times telling them that they need to just stand outside the dog park and ticket the many careless owners who let their dogs jump out of the car, near a busy street, and run unfettered towards the dog park gate. It seems people give animal control officers incorrect information to get out of a ticket. Then, animal control has every right to take their dog and give it back after the owner has paid the fine.
A less punitive measure is to make registering easier–use the dog parks as registration centers once per month. I know a dog needs rabies shots–give them at the dog park with the registration!
I think an unfenced dog park in City Park is a dog/car accident waiting to happen. Many of the propsed areas in the park are near streets where cars and bikes are traveling.
Even if I, as a dog-owner, know that there is a dog park “area” during certain hours and that I should avoid that area, a number of owners will allow their dogs to go unleashed to and from the area–increasing the chances that I might be approached by unleashed dogs.
I think the City of Denver needs to do a better job with enforcement of current rules/laws pertaining to dogs before they branch out to more dog parks. In all the articles I have read about the Dog Park Master Plan, I have yet to hear an argument that convinces me that we need more parks BEFORE correcting the problems we currently face.
Thank you for your comment. I hope you will join the public forum the City Park Alliance is hosting on Feb. 9th from 6-8 p.m. at the Leprino Family Atruim, at the west side of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
I love dogs, and I grew up with them. So I understand what it means to love your dogs. BUT I feel it is an irresponsible wast of time, money and public resources to be spending so much energy towards this matter which has already been dealt with in drafting the existing laws here in Denver, as well as other cities and states. Laws should protect the public from irresponsible people. I believe this effort is an attempt by a vocal minority to undermine the safety, welfare and general interests of the general public. I get it. There are many who view their pets as their children, mates or personify them in other ways. But the reality is that pets are animals who shouldn’t be relied on to be predictable or responsible. It’s hard enough to control what an animal does when it is on a leash. Letting dogs eat with you and sleep with you and wear sweaters and hats doesn’t insure that, when in public, they will not attack children for the first time, or invite themselves into private park picnics, butts or crotches. As a Denver native and multiple Denver property owner and taxpayer, I deserve to enjoy our parks without the invasive intrusions of other people’s pets. I feel those who want to let their pets run free should move to rural areas. But those who choose to live in the city should be required to be responsible and keep their pets restrained in public and clean up after them. Too many fail to remove pet donations when they have them on a leash. They are NOT likely to hunt down their pet’s remote deposits.
And when I am playing at City Park Golf course…
I REALLY don’t need them to bring me back my ball anymore.