Shoreline's first off-leash dogpark opens this Saturday

And everyone is invited to come to the ribbon-cutting ceremony! According to an email from the City of Shoreline, Shoreline residents collectively own over 12,000 dogs according to estimates by King County Animal Control. Beginning this Saturday these Shoreline dogs and their owners will have a place for romping and socializing as the City of Shoreline opens the first of two planned off-leash dog areas.

Join the celebration Saturday, April 25, at 10:00 a.m. at Shoreview Park as the City of Shoreline dedicates and opens the Shoreview Off-leash Dog Area. The dog area located at 320 Innis Arden Way is to the east and up the hill from the Shoreview tennis courts, in the southeast corner of the park. It can be accessed from the Shoreview parking lot off Innis Arden Drive or from the Shoreline Community College parking lot by entering through the driveway that is furthest west. Then follow the signs.

For more information, visit the Off-Leash Dog Area project page or contact Parks Project Coordinator Maureen Colaizzi at (206) 801-2603 or mcolaizzi@shorelinewa.gov, or visit the ShoreDog.org website.

Photo by Peter Giger

Shoredog work party a (muddy) success!

Last Saturday volunteers from ShoreDog, Shoreline's off-leash dog park group, spent a few hours in the soggy, muddy morning rain getting the Shoreview site ready for its April opening. They dug out blackberry vines that might injure puppy paws, and cut back weeds and brush that could overgrow the fenceline. Even though it was wet and cold, the volunteers got plenty of work done, and the site should be opening on schedule in April!



For more information, or to join ShoreDog, please click on the link below.

Link to ShoreDog website.
Link to City of Shoreline information about approved off-leash sites.

Shown in the top photo:
Maggie, Geoff, Kate, the Jacobsons, Sandra, Nan and Erika

Bottom photo: Shoredog volunteers hard at work

Two Shoreline off-leash dog parks have been approved

Great news from Shoredog.org - the city council has approved two pilot sites for off-leash dog parks in Shoreline! One is at Richmond Beach Saltwater Park (the south side of the beach) and one is at Shoreview Park (also known as "the pit" parking lot at Shoreline Community College). Here's further information from Shoredog:

In the next few weeks we'll begin working with the Parks Dept. in the implementation of Shoreview opening in the spring, and Saltwater opening in the fall (this will be a timed use site open from approx. Nov. through April). Remember, these are "pilot" sites for the first year so we need to show the Parks Dept., City Council, and Shoreline residents that we can succeed so that we can reach our long term goal of creating a balanced system of neighborhood off-leash sites throughout Shoreline.

We'd love to see you at our next Shoredog meeting:
Saturday, Jan 31st, 11am-12:30pm at the Lake Forest Park Third Place Commons Meeting Room, 17171 Bothell Way NE.

Regarding the vote, the Shoreview site passed unanimously. Councilmembers Cindy Ryu and Janet Way were most adamantly against passing the Saltwater Park site and voted against it. On the other hand, our biggest advocates were from Councilmembers Doris McConnell, Keith McGlashan, and Ron Hansen. In the end, Terry Scott and Chris Eggen also voted in favor of Saltwater Park. Here is a link with their bios/email addresses if you'd like to send them comments or thanks.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported this process through the last few years. It's been a long road, but we are finally getting somewhere! I can't stress enough how much we will need people to become involved in Shoredog now that our dream has become a reality. Please join us and spread the word!

You can read more about Shoredog, or join them, at their site here.

Here's a link to agendas and video from recent Shoreline City Council meetings.

Photo by Michael "Mike" L. Baird - bairdphotos.com
Used under a Creative Commons license

Shoreline off-leash park pilot sites selected

Wednesday night, October 29th, the City of Shoreline held a public presentation announcing the two off-leash pilot sites selected by the Off-Leash Dog Area (OLDA) study group and approved by the Park Board on Oct. 23rd.

OLDA made their presentation including history of the project, the process and criteria they used, and their final recommendations (see below). The public then asked questions and made comments. Comment forms and a copy of the presentation will be posted on the City's site soon.

The two pilot sites are:

1. Richmond Beach Saltwater Park (South End) - originally the north end by the dunes was also proposed but only the south end has been selected for a pilot site. It is proposed that this site will be timed use. The timeframe that this site will be open for off-leash use has not yet been determined but it is likely to exclude the summer months.















2. Shoreview Park - this site was not one of the original "six most promising sites" selected because the SCC Greenwood lot was proposed. There have been ownership issues that prevent us from pursuing the Greenwood lot, so OLDA took a closer look at the Shoreview site (formerly used as parking for SCC and referred to as "the pit"). It is accessible from the Shoreview Parking lot by the tennis courts and also from the SCC parking lot. This will be more of a traditional style dog park.

Next Steps: The pilot sites will be presented to the City Council at their next meeting (Dec or Jan - date has not yet been determined) and environmental studies are currently in the works. City Councilmembers Janet Way and Doris McConnell were in attendance at the public presentation. If all goes well, Shoreview may open in Spring of 2009 and Richmond Beach in Winter of 2009.

Shoredog members were also present at the meeting and encouraged people to join their mailing list and become involved in their organization which will be the stewards of these sites. Shoredog will be hosting a field trip to the two sites on Sat. 11/22 at 11am, meeting in front of the Central Market Food Court.

Link to Shoredog site here.
Link to Ronald Bog Blog's other posts about the off-leash park project here.

More about off-leash areas in Shoreline

Have you heard about "ShoreDOG"?

ShoreDOG is a a non-profit that advocates the creation of dog off-leash areas in Shoreline. 

ShoreDog has a meeting coming up this weekend. If you're a dog owner who would like to see off leash areas in Shoreline, you might want to connect with this organization.

What: ShoreDOG Meeting
When: Sat., September 27th   11:00am to 12:30p
Where: Lake Forest Park Third Place Commons Meeting Room, 17171 Bothell Way NE (The meeting room is located in the food court next to the Italian restaurant)

Link to: ShoreDOG website for more info

Update on Off-Leash Dog Park(s)

The City of Shoreline has updated their website with new information about the "Off-Leash Dog Areas (OLDA) Pilot Project" There were 38 sites looked at originally as possibilities for off-leash dog parks in Shoreline. Those 38 sites were whittled down to 14 that met the necessary criteria, and then further whittled down to the 6 "most promising" sites. And it looks like the city is considering multiple off-leash dog parks in Shoreline.

The 6 sites chosen as "most promising" are at the following locations:

• Richmond Beach Saltwater Park
• North City Park
• Aldercrest Annex
• Hamlin Park
• A parking lot at Shoreline Community College
• Open Space at Metro Transit's North Base
  

The "OLDA" study group will take public comment throughout the summer of 2008 on these proposed sites, select pilot sites, improve those sites as needed and actually implement the pilot sites (for a 12 month test phase) in the spring of 2009.

The City's website has lots more information and links to pdf files with maps of the sites in question, as well as a FAQ sheet, history of the project, and more.

Link to: The City's webpage with updated info about the project