Letter: No ideal location for dog park in Dickinson

Talk about it

After reviewing the Park and Recreation Department’s diagram of the proposed dog park, it seems consideration should be given to the following additional items: adequate signage listing rules (times park is open, leash or muzzle requirements, keeping the area clean), sheltered sitting area for dog owners, adequate lighting, maintenance worker assigned to remove wind-blown debris from the fences (volunteers — dog owners), fresh running water in the summer, snow removal in the winter.

Some individuals will disagree, but dog parks are noisy. Besides the occasional bark or growl, there is the unavoidable clanging of the metal gates; pet owners will be giving dog commands or using whistles to control their pets. There is also added noise from the coming and going of all the vehicles, most of which are larger pickups and SUV types.

Honestly, there probably is no ideal location for a dog park. Dickinson’s dog park needs to be located where it doesn’t cause an intrusion on neighboring homes and provides adequate off-street parking. Looking around our city, there appears to be an adequate vacant space adjacent to the northwest corner of the West River Community Center that would work quite nicely; there would be no intrusion on neighboring homes and there is obviously adequate parking. The directions to West River Community Center seem simple and the location is more central to the community.

Bismarck has developed a dog park in the vacant area next to Century High School’s parking lot. It has all the amenities needed to make it work well for the community. Perhaps the design could be a working example for Dickinson.

Jean DeLap, Dickinson

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