New Dog Parks for Central Ann Arbor?

An effort to develop off-leash dog parks in central Ann Arbor took a step forward at the Ann Arbor park advisory commission’s Aug. 21, 2012 meeting. The commission unanimously voted to direct its dog park subcommittee to work with city staff and develop recommendations that could lead to additional off-leash dog parks. Those recommendations are expected to be presented at PAC’s Sept. 18, 2012 meeting.

John Lawter, PAC’s vice chair, has been leading this effort – though he did not attend Tuesday’s meeting. A year ago, he gave a presentation on the topic at PAC’s Aug. 16, 2011 meeting, and cited the need for another off-leash area in the central part of the city. There are only two legal off-leash dog parks in Ann Arbor, at Olson Park and Swift Run – on the far north and south sides of the city. He recommended incorporating this goal into the city’s park planning efforts, adding it as a consideration when looking at land acquisitions, and asking that parks staff actively look for potential sites.

At the Aug. 20 meeting, park commissioner Karen Levin gave an update on the situation and proposed the resolution asking for formal recommendations. She said that parks staff would be asked to review all possible options, including unfenced off-leash hours in some city parks.

This brief was filed from the second-floor city council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

2 Comments

  1. By TJ
    August 22, 2012 at 9:42 am | permalink

    Will dog owners be expected to raise a big chunk of money for the dog park to be built and maintained, as Friends of the Skate Park did?

  2. By Susan Contratto
    August 22, 2012 at 3:15 pm | permalink

    I often walk my dog from my home on the west side, through west park, to 4th and back to my house via Liberty. What is always present in these walks is the number of people who stop me, ask me about the dog, pat her, enjoy her and then go about their business. Many of these folks are in front of the homeless center or in front of the food coop. While I believe that a dog park closer to downtown is a plus for the dogs and their owners, it is also a wonderful way of enhancing the human animal bond. Therefore I think there might be many stake holders in supporting such a park.