RAP hopes to fetch approval from city on dog park
By Susanna P. Barton
Plans for a dog park at Riverside Park are inching forward, according to officials with Riverside Avondale Preservation.
The city of Jacksonville has a proposal from the state Department of Transportation to use land under the Interstate 95 bridge for the dog park, according to RAP Executive Director Carmen Godwin. The one-acre parcel would be part of the three-acre design.
“That’s a huge step and the next step after that is essential raising money for the engineering,” she said. “It may still be year off, but we haven’t taken it off the table.”
The dog park plans call for two acres in Riverside Park’s northwest corner. Eric Lycke, a landscape architect with The Haskell Co., helped design a plan which includes several different areas for different size docks. According to plans outlined on the RAP website, the park will include space for large and active dogs and another for small or passive breeds. The larger dog area ground cover will be made of decomposed granite. A walking path and shade pavilion are also part of the more than one-acre section. The small dog section, also just over an acre in size, includes tree coverage and bench seating.
Other features include the creation of more on-street parallel parking spaces, double-gated entries and a new sidewalk connecting Park and College streets. Godwin said RAP also is working with the Riverkeeper to design a bioswale at the park that would help with water runoff from the bridge.
Cost to build the dog park is estimated to be $200,000.
“We’d be spearheading a fundraiser,” Godwin said. “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback about how important a dog park is for Riverside and Avondale. It’s great space for dogs to interact with one another, and for people — there are many social aspects for humans, too.”
The project still has hoops through which it must jump. Officials with the FDOT said no agreement has been reached yet with the city regarding the dog park.
“FDOT provided a draft agreement for the city to review and decide if they wanted to move forward with the project,” said spokesman Mike Goldman. “To date, the city has not responded as to whether they want to move forward or not.”
City spokeswoman Debbie Delgado was looking into the issue.
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