Lebanon Dog Park Needs Help

Dog owners in Lebanon are in need of an off-leash dog park for their four-legged companions.

In August 2010 a non-profit group calling themselves “Friends of the Bark Park” lobbied for a designated dog area in Lebanon. At the time, resident Lynn Martin was joined by over 100 supporters of the park. Martin teamed up with the city to scout out an acceptable location, deciding on a lot off Tennessee Road.

The property has an existing one mile trail for people to walk their dogs by the river—on leash. The idea was to add an off-leash dog area to the lot, but the process has stalled.

“The development plan is to create a dog park on that section of property, but we haven’t gotten to it yet,” said Jason Williams,city maintenance department director.

When communal support was pushing the dog park project forward, Martin and her group planned on fencing 3.3 acres for large dogs and a smaller area about 80 by 80 feet for small dogs. At the time, the city agreed to post designated signs, including a kiosk with rules for the park. However, plans came to a halt as the project got pushed further down the priority list.

“Of course it all ties into budget and manpower,” Williams said. “It all comes down to timing.”

An off-leash area also brings safety concerns to the city for both human and canine residents. All of Lebanon’s parks currently require dogs on leashes according to Williams. Unfortunately a few pooches, or owners, with bad behavior can impact the freedom of those capable of playing nice.

“We’ve had issues with dogs attacking each other, joggers, hikers, or people just walking,” Williams said. “For every one of those there’s 1,000 dogs that don’t give us a problem.”

Residents may be familiar with a piece of fenced property that resembles a dog park on S. Main and Vaughan streets. Although some thought it to be a city sponsored area, Williams confirmed the property is privately owned. Until recently it was used as a pseudo dog park until the owner locked it.

“I’m not positive but I would say a good educated guess from what I know is that they were tired of picking up dog poop,” he said.

The private property sits at a good location in town for urban dogs to have a chance to run, but as of now that is no longer an option.

With no off-leash area, some dog guardians allow their dogs to run at large regardless.

Frank Stevenson, chief of police, said July is the busiest month for dog at-large calls and they have responded to several this summer. But, he is optimistic the city and its residents can responsibly create an area where dogs can run free.

“I think the city of Lebanon has made some positive strides for a dog park area,” he said.

“Friends of the Bark Park” has lost their voice after Martin’s departure from the area, and Williams encourages the community to pick up where they left off in developing the Tennessee Road property. With pressure from the community, the dog park project may move higher up the priority list.

“They had some pretty good momentum going for a while and we’d be happy to get something going again,” he said. “The best way to get anything done is public involvement.”