Have dog owners been barking up the wrong tree letting their pooches run off-leash?
Residents have been using the Willow Creek Park as an unofficial dog park for some time, but now officials are considering creating an official dog park there to keep residents off the county’s watchdog list as they are now starting to crack down on off-leash dogs.
“The pond is definitely a draw and it’s a nice feature to have,” Basin Parks Recreation District Manager Brian Hanton said. “But right now people are just keeping their dogs off-leash and they are getting into the playgrounds. It’s just not a safe environment having dogs run off-leash, going across trails, bikers and runners.”
With the number of dog bites reported lately, they want to alleviate the stress for people who aren’t fans of dogs but still want to come to the park and have a pleasant experience.
There are only two fenced dog parks in the area: the Trailside Dog Park and the Park City Dog Park.
“There is definitely the need for another one, especially with the county watching for dogs off-leash,” Hanton said. “The county has come to us and told us they are going to enforce the leash laws more. And we want to provide a place where people can still come to the park, have their dogs off-leash and not worry about getting a ticket or hiding from animal control as they drive around.”
Amanda Greene has been taking her two black labs, Hoku and Koa, to the park every day for the past eight years.
“I think [a dog park] would be great. This is my dogs’ favorite thing to do,” Greene said.
She admitted it can be nerve-racking having the county looking for off-leash dogs and said she always puts her dogs on leashes when she sees other dogs on-leash.
“There are some dog owners out there who wreck it for the good dog owners and just let their dogs run crazy,” Greene said.
The new off-leash area, if ok’d by the county, will include the 2.5 acres bordering New Ranch Road and Split Rail Lane, including the pond. Hanton said they hope to include shade, a pavilion and some features for the dogs to use, like an agility course and an area for fetch.
The pond slope has a line underneath, and with the dogs in and out of the pond, the rocks have gotten knocked into the pond, creating a slippery surface.
To combat this problem, they plan to create a more gradual slope to the pond to eliminate the slide. They also hope to install a launch dock so dogs can jump off the dock and into the water.
The project is estimated to cost up to $75,000. But that is with contracting out all services. Inside the park, plans call for a walking trail where people can get exercise while their dogs are running around.
“And that’s something we can do in-house with our trails crew,” Hanton said. “There are a number of things we’d have to contract out, but we are going to definitely try to keep it under that number as much as possible.”
They’ve already had several letters of support. Residents can also provide input at an open house on Sept. 5 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Trailside Park Administrative Offices, located at 5715 Trailside Drive. Residents will have an additional chance to provide input when the plans are brought before the county.
Basin Recreation is hoping to get construction for the dog park underway in the spring and potentially finished by July.