Wonder what the "bigger plans for First Street" are...
New dog park planned, but will it really be downtown?
by Eugene Scott - Sept. 14, 2012 11:11 AM
The Republic | azcentral.com
A new dog park is coming to Phoenix, but whether it technically is in downtown is up for debate.
A media release from the city hailed the dog park as the city's first downtown. It will be on the northwestern corner of Margaret T. Hance Park on Culver Street between Third and Fifth avenues, a location some say is inconvenient for many downtown residents.
"There's always a controversy as to what people believe is downtown," said Delia Ortega-Nowakowski, chairwoman of the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Board and wife of Councilman Michael Nowakowski. "A lot of people believe (Hance Park) is a downtown park and very many people don't."
Discussions about creating a dog park began three years ago when the city tore down the Ramada Inn at First and Polk streets to build a parking lot. Some neighbors said downtown needed a dog park more than another parking lot.
Councilman Nowakowski represents the area that encompasses the new park.
He said the park has enough space to adhere to the city's dog-park ordinance. He requested the parks board develop an urban dog-park ordinance that would allow future downtown dog parks to be longer and slimmer.
"Hopefully, this is going to be one out of many that is going to be built downtown. As we continue to build apartments and condos, we're going to have to incorporate dog parks, because many people have dogs and animals," Michael Nowakowski said.
Ortega-Nowakowski said a factor in choosing Hance Park was costs, Ortega-Nowakowski said. City officials said it would cost about $280,000 to turn part of Hance Park into a dog park and more if another location were chosen.
"You've got the green space for the dog park whereas any other location you'd have to obviously add it," Ortega-Nowakowski said.
Some downtown residents may prefer other vacant lots downtown, but the city doesn't own all of those lots. Ortega-Nowakowski said the city could move more quickly on Hance Park, and they hope to have the dog park completed by the end of March.
"There have been some residents who are not happy with the location, but I don't know that any location would make everyone happy," Ortega-Nowakowski said.
The park will include a 6-foot-high fence, a drinking fountain, benches and trees. City officials said they will reach out to adjacent neighbors for input on the design.
Will Novak, who lives less than a quarter mile from the park, is disappointed.
"It's pretty lazily done," he said. "Downtown definitely needs a dog park, and Hance Park is a great place for a dog park. But it's a pretty poor location for it on those two hills over off Culver Street."
Novak said most of his neighbors in the Willo Historic District have little use for a dog park because they have yards where their dogs can exercise.
"It seems like if (the city is) going to spend the money to build a dog park they should put it in the location with maximum possible usage," he said. "The people on the southwest side of the park in apartments or condominiums will have to walk an additional mile or so."
The 1.28-acre park will be open from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., causing some concerns about noise. The park will feature sound-mitigation infrastructure.
"The residents that are directly living around the park have been the most unsupportive," Ortega-Nowakowski said. "They didn't want the park to be right so close to their home."
Novak said city officials should have responded to residents' concerns.
"Why should someone in the city or another neighborhood be able to shove it down their throats?" he asked.
A steering committee met for more than nine months to talk about the park, giving residents time to express their concerns, Ortega-Nowakowski said.
However, another downtown dog park could be coming soon.
"(Residents) don't want just one dog park, they want more, and I don't blame them," Ortega-Nowakowski said. "I do believe we fall short of dog parks in our city."
Nowakowski said he understands some residents' concerns.
"They really wanted something on First Street, but we have some bigger plans for First Street," he said. "(The dog park) is a step in the right direction. No, it's not in downtown Phoenix, but dammit, it's really close."
Read more:
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoen...-will-really-downtown.html#ixzz26q9Xwrge
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