A group of residents is petitioning the city to save a dog park at Barnum Park near Sixth Avenue and Federal Boulevard that Denver Parks and Recreation plans to close this spring.
A petition on the website Change.org has 200 supporters, but park officials say the west Denver dog park will have to close and the department is actively looking for a new location nearby.
The dog park will close to accommodate a pedestrian bridge that will link the north and south sides of Barnum Park, which are split by Sixth Avenue. The Colorado Department of Transportation agreed to install and finance the $2 million bridge as part of the ongoing construction on Sixth Avenue.
Denver Parks and Recreation deputy manager of parks Scott Gilmore said the bridge is probably going to be installed in either April or May and the dog park will close at that time. The bridge will need land that is being used for the dog park.
“That was the only location where the bridge could have been located,” Gilmore said. “It will be a regional trail connection along Weir Gulch.”
Dog park proponents are saying the dog park is heavily used.
“Because of the location, we have people coming from Jeffco, people from the south even as far as Cherry Creek and Aurora,” Barnum resident and petition organizer Wendy Lu McGill said. “It really is a high-use park.”
McGill added that she thinks the bridge is a great amenity, but she hopes to keep the dog park, as well.
Others add that the dog park is has kept more eyes on the park and made it safer during the day.
“The dog park has improved the safety and the access to the park for families and pet lovers,” dog park user Rosemary Rodriguez said.
Keeping the dog park would mean fencing it in to shift it away from the pedestrian bridge. But a letter from Denver Parks and Recreation landscape design supervisor Kent Sondgerath to a dog park supporter stated that the dog park shouldn’t be fenced in because of the wear and tear on the turf. The letter also stated that the department did not want pedestrian/dog conflicts when the bridge opened and that there were no other suitable sites at the park for the dog park. There had also been issues with people having their dog off leash.
Gilmore confirmed the details of the letter.
“We tried to look at some different locations, and the facilities to support a dog park just aren’t there,” he said. “It just wouldn’t be feasible.”
Denver has 11 dog parks, including Barnum. Another park, Josephine Dog Park, is also scheduled to close at Colfax and Josephine when construction begins on the Central Denver Recreation Center. The nearest dog park to Barnum is at Railyard Park at 19th Avenue and Little Raven Street.
Denver City Councilwoman Robin Kniech, who represents the city at large, recently started following the issue. She said she understands the need to close the dog park, but she hopes the city can find a replacement site as close as possible.
“I support the necessity of closing the existing dog park,” Kniech said. “With the new bridge landing there, we will have too many potential bike and pedestrian conflicts.”
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joe_vacc
