Area needs an off-leash park

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The Olympian • Published February 29, 2008

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It’s time to create an off-leash dog park in South Sound.

Dog parks — or bark parks — are popular attractions across the country. They provide an area for canines to run and fetch, jump and play, without the confines of a leash. South Sound residents must travel to Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood to let their dogs run free.

That’s not right.

Olympia and Tumwater have formally identified a need for such areas. Olympia concluded in a 2006 study there’s a “big need” for off-leash areas. While Tumwater recognizes the need, the city has not made a bark park a priority.

Now a group of pet owners has petitioned the Lacey Parks Board to designate an off-leash area at the 72-acre Woodland Creek Community Park or find an alternative location.

The area proposed for use is field isolated by a creek and thick bushes that is not normally used by other park-goers. In other words, it doesn’t take anything away from anybody and doesn’t detract from the usefulness of the park as a whole. It merely acknowledges what has been going on for years.

Theirs is a reasonable request because creating a separate place for dogs makes sense. Some people — especially young children — are intimidated by dogs, especially large dogs. Children sometimes are reduced to tears when a leashed dog appears anywhere near them. Providing a specific area for dogs allows parents to keep their frightened children away from dogs and the canines can get some exercise while their owners visit.

As the Growth Management Act continues to drive population growth in urban areas, there are fewer places for dog owners to take their pets for exercise. New building lots are generally so small it’s impossible to throw a Frisbee in the backyard without sailing it over the fence.

Let’s be honest here. Our parks already cater to specific user groups. We have soccer fields and baseball diamonds for athletes of all ages. We have trails for walkers and bicyclists. There are swings and slides for youngsters, tennis courts and basketball courts and facilities for inline skaters. Dog owners are simply another user group that merits attention.

Enforcement of the leash law has sparked the recent attention to the need for a dog park. Residents have complained to Lacey officials that the leash law has not been enforced at Woodland Creek Park and the subsequent enforcement crackdown has sparked more interest in a recognized off-leash area for dog owners and their pets.

Sound Hounds is a volunteer group started in 2005 that is working with local government officials to establish dog parks in Thurston County. They have offered to help pay for development costs.

While it would be ideal to have a dog park in each of the three cities, that’s not likely anytime soon. But it wasn’t long after Olympia put a skate park at Yauger Park that Lacey built a terrific facility for skaters at Rainier Vista Park. Look how well those areas are used.

It’s important for one of the three local parks departments to take the first step and fence off an area at an existing park, or create a separate dog park. Local park officials must acknowledge the need by working with Sound Hounds to find a way to create South Sound’s first dog park. It’s the right thing to do.