Interest growing in putting dog park in downtown Lake Charles
Last Modified: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 4:10 PM
By Lance Traweek / American Press
In an effort to bring wellness to residents, both human and canine alike, there are talks for a dog park in downtown Lake Charles.
While the specific location has yet to be identified for the 1/2 acre piece of land, volunteers Tiffany Davis, founder of Pedestrians and Cyclists of Calcasieu, and Britney Blanchette, owner of Bons Chiens Dog Training, pushed the idea to the City’s Downtown Development Authority at their regular meeting Monday night. In order for it to gain momentum they will need approval by the City Council. Davis said they have several funding sources who are interested in sponsoring, both corporate retailers and private business owners, but ultimately they would like the dog park to be city owned.
Davis said a dog park downtown would generate revenue for dog friendly businesses, attract travelers from Interstate 10, encourage residential urban development and occupancy, and increase a stroll district culture.
“Dog owners downtown don’t have yard space,” Davis said. “They don’t have anywhere to exercise their dogs downtown.”
There is currently a dog park on Lake Street in Ward 3. Davis and Blanchette touted its success among residents.
The dog park would be an enclosed area in which owner-supervised dogs are allowed to socialize and run freely without a leash. Ideally, dog parks are in the shared vicinity as stroll districts and city parks, Blanchette said in her presentation.
Amenities include: a 5’6” chained-link fence, in an oval-type shape to avoid unwanted bully behavior in dogs; a double gated entry and exit system; agility equipment; waste disposal stations; a separate area for small dogs; a water system for dogs and humans; adequate shade and seating; and adequate parking.
It is also a project taskforce of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance.
Davis said hopefully, it will not take more than a year for the dog park to be a reality.
Posted By: One Who's For Putting Our Kids First; Not The Dogs On: 10/2/2012
Title: Enough About the Dogs
How about first finishing all of the work around the Millenimum Park area so that the kids/youth have a place to play! You can walk your dog anywhere you want--and at any time. However, the poor planning by the city as well as their failure to adequately penalize would be hooligans has once again placed a damper on kids having a safe place to play.
Get the kids play area open, and then worry about the blasted dogs! Better yet, get the priorities in line!!
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