The city of Gainesville’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department is hosting a community open house alongside Wild Spaces and Public Places to hear input on a new off-leash dog park coming to Greentree Park.
The city will hold the open house in the Greentree Park Pavilion at 3700 NW 19 St. from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 16.
“We’re going to listen to the community to see what the people want at the park,” Wild Spaces and Public Places project manager Pete McNiece told Mainstreet. “It’s going to be great for the community. As long as we have the resources and time, we’re excited to get started.”
McNiece said talks of opening the new off-leash dog park in the empty field next to Greentree Park began a year ago. After the city finished higher priority projects, like fixing a rotting boardwalk at Alfred Ring Park, officials started making the idea happen.
“It’s easy to build dog parks because they close at dusk, they don’t create a lot of noise, and a lot of people have pets that want to run around off-leash [in places] that are not fee-based,” McNiece said.
McNiece believes another dog park will benefit residential areas surrounding the park, as well as other dog parks, by distributing the numbers among multiple parks as the dog park community continues to grow in Gainesville. Funding for the project comes from Wild Spaces and Public Places, an initiative collecting a half-cent sales tax between January 2023 to December 2032 to acquire and maintain land around Gainesville.
The new dog park open house is being advertised on signs posted around other dog parks in the community. Those who attend the meeting will be able to give input on choices, such as design and dog play equipment.
Instead of separating the park into two areas for small dogs and large dogs, designers are considering separating the park based on high energy and low energy dogs. The space also offers potential to build an agility course.
The park will have a dog wash area for people to spray off their pets, and McNiece has already received feedback to incorporate shaded areas and benches to sit on while dogs are playing.
McNiece encouraged those who are unable to attend the open house to share any ideas with him at McNiecePR@gainesvillefl.gov, or by calling 352-393-8544.
“We want to be sensitive to the fact that we’re using taxpayer money,” he said. “We want to build what the community wants.”
The city is expected to break ground on the project in early 2025.