PORT ANGELES — Lincoln Park is expected to go to dogs soon.
Richard Bonine, city of Port Angeles recreation services manager, said enough funds have been raised to build an off-leash dog area at the park, and he expects it to be in place within the next few months.
“This is going to be a pretty quick turnaround once we get started,” he said.
“We got enough to get the basics going. Then it will be a work in progress.”
The 1.8-acre dog park will be built east of the BMX track.
It will be Clallam’s second official dog park, the first being in Sequim. Adjacent to Carrie Blake Park, it was opened in April 2007.
Bonine said about $16,800 has been raised for the Port Angeles park, including $6,800 in donations for fencing material and plumbing to provide water.
The Nor’wester Rotary Club and Port Angeles Rotary Club will provide volunteer labor to build it.
“We felt it was a project that would make a difference within the community,” said Dan McKeen, Rotary Club president and Port Angeles fire chief.
“It provides a safe environment to allow dogs to run free without a leash.”
Bricks left over from the downtown sidewalk reconstruction project in 2008 will also be used to provide a “landing pad,” Bonine said.
“If you don’t have anything like that, the dogs will tear up that ground really quick,” he said.
A dog park was first proposed about 12 years ago when a citizens group formed to promote forming one at Lincoln Park. Nothing came of the idea.
In 2007, another effort to establish a dog park there failed due to lack of funds.
In 2009, a proposal to create an off-leash dog area at Charles R. Willson Park was withdrawn because of opposition from neighbors.
Sequim has had a dog park since 2007 covering two acres at Carrie Blake Park.
Bonine said he hopes to raise additional funds to add other features at the park, including dog toys and benches.
The dog park is to be included in the Lincoln Park Master Plan under development, he said.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
