Dog Park News

May 31, 2012

Help a shelter dog get some much needed exercise and fresh air through the Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound program. Find out more in the March-July 2012 issue of the Leisure Times.

May 16, 2011

A new dog park has been completed at Indian Hills Park located at 5009 Aztec Blvd. Dogs can run leash free in this fenced 1.5-acre area that can be accessed from the parking lot on the west side of the park.

November 2, 2010

The Park Sales Tax passed with 64% voting in favor. Included in the 2010 Park Sales Tax funding is $250,000 for improvements to Twin Lakes Park and $215,000 for trailhead restrooms that serve the leash-free areas at Garth and Grindstone Nature Areas.

October 14, 2010

About 30 people gathered for the Twin Lakes Recreation Area interested parties meeting held on October 14. Park users viewed plan proposals and offered their input. Funding for improvements to the park is identified as one of the 2010 Parks Sales Tax projects. The proposed improvements to Twin Lakes Recreation Area will go through the City Council process, which will also include a public hearing on the project.

September 30, 2010

Parks and Recreation will host an interested parties meeting at Twin Lakes Recreation Area to discuss future improvements to the dog park, as well as improvements to Little Mates Cove. The meeting will be held at 6:00pm, October 14, at the Twin Lakes Shelter, Twin Lakes Recreation Area, 2500 Chapel Hill Road, Columbia, MO. Click here to view the draft plan.

April 13, 2010

On Tuesday, April 13, at the Twin Lakes Shelter, park planners held a meeting to evaluate how the winter dog park worked and discussed long range improvements. Approximately 12 people were in attendance. Topics that were brought up included improvements to the winter dog park area including grading, turf establishment, "mud free" entry ways and the inclusion of other amenities such as benches and shade for park users. Other than that, most users felt that the winter dog park accomplished the established goals of providing a safe winter place for dogs. Park staff is currently working on many of the suggested improvements.

Other concerns expressed by those that attended the meeting were that the original dog park is getting such high use that it is destroying the turf. Park planners discussed the only way to improve the turf is by closing the original dog park in either late September or early October so that turf establishment would have appropriate weather to germinate. The current original dog park is only closed December, January and February and it is impossible to establish turf during this time period. The discussion was to close it earlier in 2010 so that new seeding would have a chance to establish prior to the winter. This is a temporary solution only to be considered due to the request of dog owners.

Other discussion included the future of the Little Mates Cove swimming lake and it's impact on the winter dog park; increasing the size of the dog park, capturing more land to the east; a perimeter lake trail and impact on the original dog park; lake improvements ranging from dredging to even draining and changing the size and shape of the large fishing lake. These topics were explored only as a brainstorming session and not to indicate any plans whatsoever. There are not any attempts to close or restrict use other than the short term plans to help improve the turf. Prior to any changes being made, many more public planning meetings will be held.

On any major physical improvements to parks and facilities, the Parks & Recreation Department prides itself on public input and responding to the concerns of the citizens, plus prior to any funds being spent on capital improvements, a public hearing before the City Council must occur and these are usually preceded by many public meetings.

Finally a list of proposed "Dog Park Etiquette" was presented to those in attendance. These rules were supported and even some comments about making them official rules and regulations were discussed. The proposed rules as presented at the April 13 meeting included:

Dog Park Etiquette
1.         Dogs and owners enter off-leash area at their own risk.
2.         Handlers must clean up after their dogs and dispose of all trash.
3.         Dogs will not be left unattended and must be under voice control at all times. Dogs that can not be controlled must be on a leash at all times.
4.         There is a maximum of four (4) dogs per family.
5.         Dogs must be leashed when outside of the fenced area. Handler should have the leash in hand when inside of the area.
6.         No human food is permitted in the fenced/off-leash area. Handlers using dog treats must assume the risk of safe handling.
7.         Prong, choke and spike collars must be removed for safety reasons.
8.         To keep the Dog Park clean, the grooming of dogs at the park is prohibited.
9.         No animals other than dogs shall be permitted in the area.
10.       Failure to abide by the park rules may result in loss of privileges or owners may be ticketed.
11.       Hours: sunrise to sunset.

Park planning staff will continue to accept additional comments on the rules. It is anticipated that a final decision on the rules and regulations for the dog park will be made following the completion of the Indian Hills Dog Park, later this summer or early fall.

November 16, 2009

Modifications to the Twin Lakes Dog Park Operations (Implemented after 10/28/ 09 mtg):
See report submitted to Council at the November 16, 2009 Council Meeting for information regarding proposed modifications to the Twin Lakes Dog Park Operations.

October 28, 2009

The following items were discussed at the dog park public planning meeting held on October 28, 2009.