Thumbs down to new dog park

“Thumbing It” (Sept. 18, 2025) gave a thumbs up to a proposed new dog park on the Animas River Trail at Rank Park because it will “ease congestion” and “avoid another tragedy like the one last summer” (when an unleashed dog caused the death of a bicyclist). These reasons don’t stand up, and there are other reasons why the dog park should get a thumbs down.

With respect to congestion, whatever that may mean, Rank Park could be the worst possible location for a dog park. The park sits at a busy entry point to the ART behind the high school and at the confluence of Junction Creek and the Animas River. There is no parking in the area, so people driving to the dog park must use the adjoining neighborhoods. Many people pass through this stretch, which provides access to the recreation center, library and high school. The dog park will increase activity – people with dogs coming, going, running and barking – in a quiet space where people sit on the grass and benches and under the trees.

As for avoiding another tragedy, the bicyclist died because the dog owner did not to leash or control his dog. The dog owner violated the law and harmed another person. After the bicyclist’s death, the City talked about education and enforcement. Now the talk is about building another dog park. Yet people continue to let their dogs run off-leash and out of control on the ART. How will building another dog park at a busy junction on the ART improve the situation?

Two other impacts should be considered. First, large numbers of dogs in Rank Park could harm wildlife. Junction Creek is a wildlife corridor, and it may be the only west-side corridor in the North Main area that is safe for deer and other wildlife to reach the river. Waterfowl, eagles, hawks and songbirds frequent the area and use the wetlands created by runoff from the high school fields. It doesn’t appear that the City consulted with CPW before selecting Rank Park as its top choice for a dog park.

Second, as the City acknowledges on its website, dog waste is a major source of fecal contamination in our rivers and streams. The average dog makes 0.75 pounds of waste per day, so scaling up a dog park used by 100 dogs per day means 13.7 tons of dog waste per year. Some waste both inside and outside the dog park may be picked up, but we know from experience that not all of it will be. Many residents use the river along the ART to swim, boat and fish. It doesn’t appear that the City considered the impact on water quality and public health from a dog park at the confluence of Junction Creek and the Animas River.

There already is an underused 24-acre dog park at the south end of town. The City should consider making improvements there rather than sacrificing more open space, wildlife, water quality and the interests of other users of the ART.

– Eric Ames, Durango