Logan to consider more dogs in parks
Logan may be entering into a 12-month pilot program that could allow dogs into more parks. This focus comes from input given in a previous city council meeting held on Jan. 22 and also through email messages sent to the mayor.
Russ Akina, the Logan City Parks and Recreation director, said the plan is not to add additional parks to what the city currently has, but to identify parks that could be open to dogs, and to monitor their use through the pilot program.
“Once we have a park identified for the pilot program, it will be submitted to the city council for a meeting on Feb. 19,” Akina said.”Our intent is to hold the pilot program to those sites only. If the council agrees to that those will be the sites we will monitor and survey during the course of the pilot program.”
Brookelin Backus, a dog owner in Cache Valley, said dog parks in Logan are “doable,” but she is sometimes left with very few options to take her dog to socialize or play.
“I’m really excited for what they’ve been considering as far as changes go because we’ll definitely be using that,” Backus said.
Josh Barfuss is also looking for more playtime options for his dog, Harley. He is very supportive of gaining more designated dog areas in Logan.
“It’s kind of like having a kid,” Barfuss said. “He’s not something I can just leave in the house all day, he needs to be taken out and move around,” he said.
Akina said there are various levels of concern in the valley regarding this topic, coming from both dog owners and citizens concerned with the quality of these sites once dogs are able to enter. Because of this, she said there will be a large emphasis by council members and volunteers to keep Logan’s trails and parks clean.
“There will be guidelines and rules that will be associated with the park sites that are being proposed,” Akina said.“Of course the big one is that it’s expected that users of the park will pick up after their pets, dispose of their waste properly, and all the other things that go along with having good neighborly use of parks by their pets.”
Akina also emphasized the importance of trails being free from dog poop at the start, so there is something to measure against once the pilot program has started. If good outcomes are met in this regard, the designated dog sites may become permanent.
“We’re hopeful that the pilot program stays in place after 12 months,” Akina said. “And that’s really the purpose of the program to see if people will police themselves to look after their pets and make for a place safe, in this case a park or a trail, for everyone to use.”
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