South Loop Dog Park Action Cooperative

Julie Walsh’s 2011 book ‘Unleashed Fury – The Political Struggle for Dog-Friendly Parks‘ is highly recommended. If you don’t like reading thoughtful academic-tinged texts (the author is an associate professor of political science), you might find it tl;dr, but do try to read through the first two chapters!  The book was reviewed in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of The Bark magazine.

If you’ve read the book and have comments or thoughts, please add them in the Comments section here. We may try to put together a more thorough review of the issues raised by this important book later this year.

Many of you have heard about plans for a new dog park to be built on Wabash south of 16^th St.  We’ve blogged about it a couple of times (here, here, and here), too. The park was proposed by Alderman Fioretti, and the site is expected to be named Fred Anderson Park.

Well, today the DFA committee that was formed to advise and support construction of the 16^th& Wabash Dog Park has started up a new website in order to facilitate communication and discussion among South Loopers about the development of the park.

This is great news! 

We encourage you all to to follow the site: 16thwabashdogpark.blogspot.com, and to comment, post and become involved. The 16^th&Wabash dog park site has great potential, but it will only be through your efforts that that potential will be realized.

Take a look!

How big are the dog parks in Chicago?  Well, here’s little graphic to give you an idea:

The average size of a Chicago DFA excluding the three beaches is ~0.16 acre (~6600 sq ft).

Three weeks ago we posted a survey online and at the bulletin board at Grant Bark Park, in response to a Facebook comment:

“PLEASE REMOVE THE KIDDIE POOLS FROM THE GRANT PARK DOG PARK, These things are breeding pools of disease for dogs, especially puppies. If this is were my yearly membership is spent, I don’t know why I bother.”

This issue has come up before (August 2010):

“Possible Water-borne Disease – A park user reported that his dogs got Giardia, and blamed the kiddie pools at GBP for transmission of disease.  Board members argued that dogs love the pools in the hot weather, and that they provide a real benefit.  Is there a way to work around the potential for water-borne disease transmission by posting ‘pool rules’ that specify, for example, that the water should be changed frequently, and by providing dilute bleach solution? Sarah agreed to discuss the issue with her vet and report back with a draft of a ‘pool rules’ sign to be posted on the ‘lock box’.“

Our decision at the time was to implement ‘Pool Rules’ that instructed Grant Bark Park users to frequently dump out and refresh the water, and to periodically clean out the pools using a dilute bleach solution.  The pools at GBP cracked and fell apart by year’s end, and they were thrown out over the winter.

Other Chicago DFA’s have kiddie pools during the summer, and they also rely on park users to be concientious about maintaining the pools.  The folks at the Churchill Park DFA, for example, recently posted:

“Please help keep the pools clean, keep the water running, empty when dirty or peed in and don’t leave them full if you’re the last one to leave the park. We want our dogs cool and healthy!! Thanks and enjoy your weekend!”

We are well aware of the issue of disease transmission, but we have to balance that with the needs of dogs at the parks. The pools that appeared at the park this year were brought in by a park user, they were not supplied by the SLDogPAC!

We asked: Should Kiddie Pools be available at Grant Bark Park in the summer?

There have now been twenty five (25) votes submitted online and by email:

‘Yes’ – 21 

‘No’ – 4

We consider the result of our survey to give us a ‘sense of the park’ – people do want the  pools (or something wet!) in the park.  But we have to take concerns about disease seriously - is there a ‘better way’?

These are the comments we received:

‘Yes’

As long as they are emptied every day and rinsed often, they should be safe, and the dogs love them!

It’s a great way for the dogs to stay cool while getting the exercise they need!

Yes, and dumped out at the end of the day. What’s the research say?

Only if the water got changed on a regular basis. Might be a breeding ground for bacteria and disease.

My dog loves them!

Make a rule to empty it if u leave – so new dogs don’t enter to old water

Maybe one bigger one.

It’s the best way for bulldogs to beat the heat.

My dogs (2) love them.

Keeps my doggy cool

I wonder if there are sturdier alternatives available? The kiddie pools seem to crack and leak very quickly.  Something more like this or this?

‘No’

I’m kind of torn on this. I think they’re a great way to keep dogs cool, but on the other hand, without regularly refreshing/changing the water they can get kind of icky. Our dog has twice developed hot spots after he’s spent an entire day tromping thru the pool at daycare…So now we don’t take him during the summer. How about a nice sprinkler instead?

Sprinkler yes pool no! Too many dogs get sick!!!!

Bacteria, disease, lack of ownership for taking care of them.

I was just in the dog park this morning and saw  the poll being taken about the kiddie pools. Shouldn’t the question be “Are kiddie pools healthy for our dogs?” not  “Should we have them?”. Pools of standing water bring mosquitoes – and with the new research about  a new batch of mosquitoes being heartworm medicine resistant, standing water is not a good thing. Also, dogs pee in the water, stand (with paws that have been whoknowswhere) and lap it up. If you have a puppy, senior dog, immune compromised dog, etc.  “community” water is not a good thing.  Heat alone brings on drooling and diharea both of which gets transferred easily to water.  I think the individual water bowls being refreshed with clean water when you bring your dog into the park is a good idea. For summer fun, it would seem that a sprinkler would be the healthiest way to go for our puppies. Sorry, I have to vote “no” for the kiddie pools.

We invite those of you who feel strongly about this issue, pro or con, to participate directly in the decisions being made about your dog park – come to SLDogPAC board meetings, join our committees, or send us an email! 

Either way in the end it’s up to you, Grant Bark Park users, to make a difference.

A revised concept for the 16th and Wabash park was presented in the meeting room of the District 1 Police Station on April 27th.

The park proposal arises from Alderman Fioretti’s initiative, and he should be acknowledged for pushing this forward.

But.

Here is the concept presented last November:

The plan at that time was fairly well received – the overall park area was allocated 60% as an area for South Loop residents to play with their dogs in a safe off-leash environment, and 40% for people without dogs – but inviting them to participate in the experience.

The total area allocated as a ‘big dog’ area was ~0.37 acres and the total area allocated as a ‘small dog’ area ~0.17 acre. Total: about 1/2 acre of the 1 acre site.

Note that the size of Grant Bark Park, the largest dog park in downtown Chicago is ~0.4 acre.

So, no, not a big park.  But OK.

And, given careful thought about appropriate surfacing, one that might be a decent play area for people from the neighborhood and their dogs.

We were all looking forward to the revised proposal, “reflecting community suggestions on the park design to date“!

Here, to scale, is the new concept plan (apologies for the cell phone pic, but this is what we’ve got):

Take a look at that.  The little squiggly area to the right of the image is the dog park.  There’s a performance area and stage to the left, on the Wabash St. side.

You want numbers?

The so-called ‘big dog’ area comprises about one quarter of an acre (0.26 acres).

The so-called ‘small dog’ area comprises about one tenth of an acre!

(It’s easy to get these numbers by scaling the images and counting pixels. They are correct.)

The new proposal shrinks the off-leash areas by 33%.

What did the CPD representatives say about this?

‘We are building one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, dog friendly areas in Chicago!’

OK.

16th & Wabash Proposal – ~0.36 acres

Grant Bark Park – ~0.4 acres (1.1x)

Wiggly Field – ~0.5 acres (1.4x)

Montrose Dog Beach – ~2.5 acres (6.9x)

This is Chicago, granted.  Yes, parks have to be small.

How about these small parks:

Grant Park Tennis Courts (next to Grant Bark Park): ~0.8 acres (2.2x)

Grant Park Skate/Beach Volleyball Park (next to Grant Bark Park): ~0.9 acres (2.5x)

Grant Park Softball Fields (north of Grant Bark Park): ~3.3 acres (9.1x)

Sure, there were a lot of very nice design elements in the proposal -

• A water feature (nice!).
• Three-dimensional sculpting of the space (nice!).
• A walking bridge over the space for people playing with their dogs (nice!).
• A performance stage (nice!).

But parks are not just places “the dogs can come and do the things they need to do” (quoting Leslie Recht, Alderman Fioretti’s liaison).

Parks should be places where dogs and people can play, run and socialize.

Imagine your dog chasing a ball in the proposed off-leash park… where exactly?

Off-leash dog areas are important to the community. People will take their dogs to places where they can play and run and catch.

And residents will support a sanctioned area if it evidences thoughtful respect for those needs.

If the goal here was to create a space for people and dogs that encouraged them to use sanctioned space for off-leash activity… ?

Well. You decide.  Comments are welcome.

We note the passing of Zorro Hughes, canine emeritus of 910 S. Michigan Ave and founding member of the South Loop Dog PAC.

Click on the image for a tribute to Zorro from Bob Hughes

 

Click on the image to read a tribute to Zorro written by his human, Bob Hughes.

A truck today delivering mulch to the Verizon Wireless Antenna installation at Grant Bark Park.

The following were obtained under an FOIA request, and are posted without comment:

We received this reminder from StreetZaps.com.  Watch out for your dogs out there, particularly in the winter months!

HOW TO SLAY AN INVISIBLE DANGER.

Blair Sorrel, Founder

www.StreetZaps.com

Contact voltage is a chronic hidden hazard that can readily victimize an unsuspecting dog, walker, or both. No dog lover could possibly observe a more horrifying scene than witnessing his beloved pet instantaneously maimed or tragically electrocuted. When you exercise your pooch, please exercise greater prudence. Common outdoor electrical and metal fixtures may shock or even kill your vulnerable dog. And depending upon the current, the walker will be bitten and like poor Aric Roman, suffer permanently. But you can, indeed, self-protect.

Just start to adopt this simple strategy — EYEBALL THE BLOCK, AND AVOID A SHOCK.

• Take a few seconds and make your trajectory toward generally safer, free standing, non-conductive surfaces, ie., plastic, wood, cardboard. Intuit your dog’s cues and if it’s resistant, change directions.
• Work site perimeters may be live so try to elude them. If necessary, switch sides of the street or your hands when leading to skirt hazards.
• If you traverse the same route, you may memorize locations of potential dangers.
• Carry your pooch when in doubt.

Consider indoor restroom products like PottyPark when external conditions are chancy or RopeNGo’s hardware-free leash and harness. And don’t rely on dog booties as a palliative as they will actually put your pet at even greater risk since the dog can’t tell you they’re leaking!

To learn to more, please see StreetZaps. A safer walk is yours year round if you are willing to open to your eyes and mind to it

These are images of preliminary dog park design proposals for the 16th & Wabash park that were recently discussed publicly for the first time.

These are works in progress and they present two different visions – Plan A: a curvilinear droplet of a dog park surrounded by people friendly* pathways and defined by grassy berms. Plan B: a rectilinear block of a park that plays off the diagonal arrangement of different surfaces – artificial grass, decomposed granite and asphalt.

Public areas at the north end of the park are being designed to facilitate access by True Rock Ministries for church events.

The current space is about 1.1 acres in total (click for full size; image is to scale with the drawings):

Plan A (click for full size):

Plan B (click for full size):

Note the inclusion of ‘small dog’ and ‘large dog’ areas, and the use of various surface materials in the park.

Also note the inclusion of a ‘concession area’ in both plans.  In plan A, this area would be associated directly with a restaurant being developed to open in the building south of the park.

Alderman Fioretti’s office is soliciting input: ‘For more information and to make comments, please email the project team at: 1629Wabash@gmail.com.’

We at the South Loop Dog PAC would like to hear your ideas, as well.  Feel free to comment here or to email us your comments and ideas.

We’ll continue to discuss the issues raised by this project on this website as the project develops.