I'm a regular user of this dog park. It's better than nothing, and I'm thankful to have it, but it could be so much better. Here are a few thoughts on maintenance and amenities.
On maintenance: Grass is mowed and garbage is taken out, but otherwise very little maintenance is done. The park has a large dog and small dog side. The small dog side is on a gentle slope and gets less use than the large dog side, so it stays pretty nice. The large dog side has large bare patches, is quite weedy, and has multiple muddy areas (one more of a big, perpetual mud *pit*) due to poor drainage. When the inevitable holes show up, they are eventually filled with sand (and often re-dug). Would it be so hard to fill with top soil, and add some grass seed to these and other bare spots? A little soft fencing could protect the areas needing maintenance.
A longer term solution would be to improve the drainage, and divide the park to allow the turf in the large dog side of the park to have some regular recovery time. Even just adding some rocks and grading to move water near the water source outside the fenced area would be helpful in the summer. In the spring, the majority of the large dog side of the park becomes a quagmire, and park usage declines dramatically since dogs are often filthy after a visit between late March and early May.
Amenerties and environment: The park sits under high tension electrical transmission lines that run for miles. The result is that the wind really blows at this park. Windiest spot in Canton, without a doubt. With nothing to break the wind, a trip to the dog park in the winter is often brutally cold. Even something as simple as hanging some clear plexiglass panels along the western fencing would make a huge difference so that people have a place they can get some shelter from the wind.
There is now a very small covered shade structure, which is much appreciated in the hot summer months and during a light rain. I'd estimate the size at about 10'x10', so this is nothing like a picnic shelter sized structure, but for just a few people/dogs it does provide shade.
There are a couple of dead trees, and a couple of half dead trees, and a couple trees that are doing ok. There are benches to sit if you don't want to walk around or stand, and there is water running from about late May to early September. There is also a portable toilet in the summer that gets emptied regularly.
Dogs need to registered and show proof of vaccinations to get registered, and an electronic lock keeps unregistered dogs out.
The vast majority of people and dogs using the dog park are very friendly, and generally get along well. Usage patterns for the large and small dog sides seem to be different, so I'll just speak to the large dog side for a moment: As you would expect, weekends get more use, but there are regulars that come at several times throughout the day. The slowest period is usually around 1-3pm, but there are always exceptions. Rarely do I see more than 8-9 dogs at a time. Usually I see 1-4 dogs. The most I've ever seen was maybe 22 dogs, but that level of usage is extremely rare.
Overall, it's a nice community of people and dogs. Unfortunately, having visited dog parks in several states around the country, I view this park as a really mediocre facility. In other places people and dogs have parks with trails, with swimmable water, with forested areas and meadows, etc. I am thankful to have this park, and will continue to be a regular user, but would love to see Canton improve this facility or build a significantly better one. Canton neighborhoods, schools, library, and parks (excluding this one) are great! Would be Nic to bring the dog park up to the standards of the rest of our community. read more