Hi, Courtney. You make a good point re: the crossing of Central, or any other major thoroughfare, versus the utility of a conveniently located dog park to serve those who live in condos and apartments and thus lack available leash-free space for proper dog maintenance.

However, I must posit, on behalf of all reasonable folk, the following: if you don't have a home which provides a yard or other appropriate dog-play space available for a dog, don't buy a dog. If you already own a dog, please take this into consideration should you be forced to relocate.

Dog ownership is not a right, it is a privilege which carries a serious responsibility. It is your job to take care of your dog, not the job of the city, or the taxpayer, or anyone else. If private citizens in the area would like to purpose some land towards a dog park, they can very well pool their money together and purchase some of the expansive amount of unused and aesthetically abominable land which is three minutes' walk from 1st and Roosevelt. This would achieve the goal of a dog park in the "right" location and satisfy the wave of the self-entitled newcomers riding the wave of gentrification without deliberately and senselessly harming the art spaces and local businesses which are the only thing separating downtown from the plasticine suburbs from which hail the influx of new neighbors and friends for whom we are so eager to provide half-caf lattes and "authentic" atmosphere.

It's an insight rife with wisdom that what would most help these spaces is if parking for dedicated patrons could be even more limited in order to make the area more inviting for passersby who come not to view entertainments and purchase art, but rather to allow their dogs to poop. I can see it now – Roosevelt Row Plastic Gloves, Firehouse-branded scoops – the opportunities to expand the downtown art scene are endless.

I found out just recently why Portland Park exists today – Post Properties negotiated it back into existence when they built almost 500 residential units in what was a wasteland here during the 1990's – the City built the Park somewhat according to its original dimensions and the residential development agreed to maintain it. One assumes this commitment binds subsequent owners of the complex – the park continues to be maintained years after Post sold it.

Turning all or part of it into a dog park is certainly a negotiation someone can try to have with the City and the current complex owner. I don;t kn ow if the condo developer or empty lot owner is party to the maintanence agreement by now.

Let's continue to have multi-party dialogues about this – it's far from a finished project anywhere but abundantly a necessary one!

I appreciate and applaud your recognition of reusing existing infrastructure whenever possible for buildings, but I don't know that I agree that applies to parks, especially specific-function parks targeted at serving residents who are most likely to use it the closer it is to where they live. Creating a Field of Dreams dog park in BFE Hance Park isn't going to convince people to walk farher–they might use it on special occasions, but daily their dogs are going to continue crapping on concrete while on a leash.

Regarding your point about inconsistency on 1st street: Part of putting it there would be to tie it into the design of the face lift that the street is already undergoing. Second, it would act as a much more visible gateway to Hance from Roosevelt.

Another big point that wasn't discussed is that a dog park in this area would cause more people walking past businesses–marketing opportunities that downtown business owners need. If we could have gotten more people walking past Just Breathe could it have survived? Wouldn't concentrated pedestrian routes to/from this park and places like Alta create vibrancy that could help businesses & street safety?

We should grab coffee at Giant soon and discuss more.