21 Sep 2010

Kingsman Field Dog Park Construction is Underway

There will be no slides for the pups at Kingsman Field

It seems like the Kingsman Field dog park project has dragged on forever. Especially with other parks, like the one on Newark Street NW opening ahead of us, and the one on Upshur Street NW well underway. Even the dogs on the SE side of the Hill got a temporary place to romp over at the Virginia Avenue park! Dogs on the river can head to Yards Park (although I hear this is a terrible excuse for a dog run – Ramona and I haven’t checked it out yet) – but where, oh where is our Kingsman Field?

Well, I’m here to tell you that construction is well underway – the asphalt has been dug up and is being removed and we’re expecting our Dog Park to open in October! (End of the month – maybe in time for a costume contest for the pooches?) The surface will be decomposed granite (or stone dust) instead of the K9 Grass artificial turf. I can’t say I’m thrilled with that particular development, but it should be great for short haired dogs and/or pups that don’t roll on the ground at every given opportunity! (ie not Ramona)

The Hill Hounds site is still down (it was hacked earlier this year and it’s taken a while to get back online) but we do expect it to be back up and running in the next week or so. Hill Hounds is the official 501(c)(3) partner organization of DPR on this project. You can still order a brick for your beloved furry friend, but do so in the next week if you want it to be part of the park when it opens. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait at least a year for your brick to be placed!

Nichole Remmert is the Fundraising and Outreach Chair of the Hill Hounds Board of Directors.

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7 responses to “Kingsman Field Dog Park Construction is Underway”

  1. TJ says:

    Why the change in surface? What good is it if the place for your dog to play will turn to a mud pit when it rains and leave them filthy when it is dry?

  2. It doesn’t get muddy – that’s actually the upside. But it’s dusty as hell, and the tiny little pieces tend to stick in Ramona’s curly Muppet fur. (that’s her, pictured above)

    The change was b/c of maintenance issues with the turf at the Dupont park. DPR has not had a great track record with choosing the surfaces for these parks (the stones at Shaw were a disaster – dogs wouldn’t walk on them), so I’m hoping this will be good for the majority of the dogs using it. It’s a pretty common surface for dog parks, so I guess it works for most pups.

  3. Gail Kelley says:

    Yes, this is wonderful news if you, like Ms. Remmert, think dogs belong in children’s playgrounds. (Although you will have to go to her splog to see her dog posing in a children’s playground.)

    It is interesting that in a country and particularly a city where obesity is a concern, DPR is focused on providing exercise facilities for dogs. And it is interesting that although pit bulls are widely considered to be dangerous dogs, those supporting this field think it is just fine to have them on an athletic field.

    The history of this park is very interesting.

    In October 2008, there was a community meeting where a representative from DPR indicated that there was no funding for the project. In January 2010, people living adjacent to the proposed park saw contractors holding copies of the design plans for the park. And the plans they were holding were completely different than what had been proposed and supported by public opinion.

    Between October 2008 and January, there had been no communication with either neighbors to the field or users of the field. (Nothing posted at the field, nothing posted about meetings on the DPR website.)

    In fact the only meeting during this entire time was a presentation to ANC6a which voted to approve the revised plan, despite the fact some of the ANC6a commissioners obviously knew nothing about the proposed Dog Park. There was no community about this meeting, even to people living less than 25 feet from the dog park. Nor was there any notice to groups using the athletic field for games and practices.

    Neighbors and users of the field have been asking DPR about this change in the plans since January. DPR has refused to provide any information. The dog park was approved on the basis that it would provide any area for dogs separate from children. However in the revised plan, the access to the dog park is THROUGH the athletic field. The entrance is directly adjacent to the playing field and in fact encroaches on the playing field.

    The site approved for the dog park was to the east of the existing basketball court. The location is identified as “Tennessee Ave and 14th St.” The site which DPR now intends to use includes the basketball court. The proposed replacement basketball court will be sandwiched in, with less than five feet clearance to the Dog Park. The proposed entrance is neither Tennessee Ave or 14th street.

    The petition for the proposed dog park submitted by the sponsoring group Hillhounds is nothing but lies. For example, Hillhounds represents itself as belonging to the group “Friends of Kingsman Field” that is working to improve the park. In truth, there is not a “Friends of Kingsman Field” group and never has been. The only thing Hillhounds members have been working to do is create a dog park for their own enjoyment.

    The water fountain at the athletic field has not been functional since 2005, apparently because DPR has no money for maintenance. Yet DPR has hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on dog parks. The field was completed renovated in 2003 and re-opened in April of 2004. Within a year, dog owners had destroyed the field. Despite several attempts at reseeding, the sod has never recovered, in large part because DPR does not have the money to ensure that the sprinkler system is properly maintained.

    On August 24th, the basketball court at Kingsman Field, a very heavily used recreational facility that was resurfaced and renovated in April of 2008, was removed to allow it to be replaced by the dog park. Since then, the site has been empty, a major loss to the community.

    DPR appears to be making no attempt to ensure that what limited information is provided to the public about the dog park is accurate. For example, a recent press release about another dog park indicates “Designs for an additional dog park in Ward 5 between 14th Street and Tennessee Avenue, NE are in the works. “ In fact the site is in Ward 6.

  4. Mary says:

    Gee Whizz Gail, would you like a bowl of milk with that? MEOW….

  5. Eleventh Street says:

    Oh for heaven’s sake, Gail, save us the sermon. It’s a cute photo of a dog on a slide.

    Do you really suppose that an alternate use for the space would cure America’s obesity epidemic? You could blanket the entire Hill with treadmills and bike paths and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference. If people want to exercise, they will.

    As for pit bulls, which you declare to be “widely known as a dangerous breed” (whatever that means), wouldn’t it be better to have them in a securely gated area? Or should people just not have dogs at all, because you don’t like them?

    Unless you have something constructive to add, please gather up your sanctimonious condescension and go rain on somebody else’s parade. Thanks.

  6. I’m not addressing any of the other assertions in Ms. Kelley’s comment, but I will address the photo.

    This was taken in a closed, private park in Western Pennsylvania . I asked the owner for permission to have photos taken of my dog Ramona in said park. There were no children, or humans, or domestic animals of any kind other than myself, Ramona and the photographer in the park at the time.

  7. I am Director of Watson Upper Valley Dog Park in White River Junction, Vermont. We have been open since 2008. Part of our park is covered in Jock Sand which is the dust from crushing granite so I guess it would be considered decomposed granit.
    This summer the dust from the jock sand became a really big problem for our dogs – especially the longer haired dogs. And on a windy day the owners ran for cover.
    Although we have water in the park for the dogs we do not have the ability to water down the jock sand area.
    We are now looking at alternatives to resurface next summer.
    I was wondering how the decomposed granit is working out at your park?
    Thank you.

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