Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 10/09/2008

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CASE # ~ OFF-LEASH AREA FOR ALPINE PARK By: Mark Riverblood, Parks Supervisor Background: Ramsey's park and trail system is valuable for a cross section of the community - including both active uses, and passive. One very popular activity is dog walking with the pet on a leash, which often utilizes the trail and sidewalk system. However, many owners use parks to allow their dogs to run or for training. While City Code requires pets to be leashed at all times, it is acknowledged that a number of owners do allow their animals to 'run' in park settings. This is seldom a problem, particularly early inthe day, or outside of peak use periods. It is during the evenings when the majority of residents are out for fitness walks and parks are the busiest when loose dogs can be inappropriate. Consequently, for several years residents have been requesting that the City create a dog park, or off-leash area to serve their needs. Observations: Aside from dog walking on sidewalks and trails, two locations are far and away the most popular destinations for pet owners - the south half of Rivers' Bend, and Alpine Park. This is in part due to their proximity to Ramsey's urbanized area, which includes housing with smaller lots. Of the two parks, Alpine sees even more patrons arriving by auto than Rivers' Bend. Last fall, utilizing the City's Lawful Gambling Fund program (wherein up to $5,000 is made available to leverage park improvements), outfield fences were added to Alpine's baseball fields. During the evaluation of the proposed homerun fences, it was acknowledged that while there was clear benefit to the baseball program - there was some utility, or flexibility lost relative to the interruption of the large expanse of open turf resulting from the fences. As it turns out, the fences may have provided an unintended benefit. By adding two fence sections, five or six gates, and connection to the state's fence on the south line of Alpine Park, an off-leash area is created beyond ballfields #2 and #3. The attached exhibit demonstrates this area. The following are some of considerations that support the concept: · Alpine Park is already one of most popular destinations for dog owners . The space is presently underutilized · The site has areas that have great turf, as well as a 'rough', and a small woods · While the fencing would interrupt the movement of wildlife in between the two half s of Alpine; wildlife disturbance may be lessened in other places by a designated off-leash area · The entrance to the dog park area (at the cell tower driveway) is far from the active use areas of the playground, shelter and backstops · The location has no immediate impact to neighbors · There is no designated off-leash area presently convenient to Ramsey residents