Dog park proposed for Bay View Park

Milwaukee County Parks has proposed building an approximately 1.5-acre off-leash dog exercise area in Bay View Park in St. Francis, roughly across from the Cousins Center and near the soccer field.

Local County Supervisors Marina Dimitrijevic, Pat Jursik, and Chris Larson are sponsoring an informational meeting for the public to learn more about this neighborhood dog park 6pm, Monday, June 8 in the South Shore Park Pavilion, 2900 S. Shore Dr.

Since 2005, the county has operated the 26-acre Runway Dog Exercise Area, off Rawson Avenue in Oak Creek. The 2009 Milwaukee County budget includes $248,400 for dog park expansion. The County Board approved a number of dog park sites in existing parks, including Estabrook, Currie, Lake, and Bay View Parks. The idea is to create legal dog-roaming areas closer to home for dog owners, many of whom are driving 30 or 40 miles to Runway, said Jim Ciha, Parks Department landscape architect. 

Bay View Park was selected based on input at a public informational meeting last fall, Ciha said.

Runway collects approximately $20,000 annually in revenue, Ciha said. But because of the fee system, he said it’s difficult to track how many distinct people and dogs that represents and thus difficult to anticipate the density of users at Bay View Park. An annual permit is $20 per dog, while a daily permit is $5.

The estimated cost of the Bay View Park dog park is $49,000, Ciha said. It would include a fenced-off area of turf grass, a 10-by-16-foot shelter, info booth, and fee tube. Parks staff would pick up fees deposited on the honor system daily or twice-daily. Ciha said there have not been any problems with fees being stolen at Runway.

South Shore Park Watch president Kathy Mulvey said the group is opposed to the Bay View Park location.

“We just feel that Bay View Park is totally inappropriate for a dog park,” Mulvey said. She objects to fencing off part of a lakefront park, especially one as narrow as Bay View Park. “Why would you take a lakefront park and fence it off? That’s crazy.”

Mulvey also said the proximity to the bike trail makes the site inappropriate for dogs. “Dogs don’t like people on bicycles,” Mulvey said.

Supervisor Dimitrijevic said she thinks the Bay View Park dog park is a good idea but that she’s open to exploring the south side to find the right spot. “I’ve heard mostly positive. I’ve also heard a growing number of just questions: ‘What would it be like?’” said Dimitrijevic, who pointed out Shorewood has embraced the idea of a dog park in Estabrook Park and even come up with matching funds.

Parks Director Sue Black said Milwaukee compared poorly to the 25 largest park systems in the country when it comes to the number of dog parks. San Francisco, for example, has 27, she said.

In late May, the Residents for Off-Leash Dog Parks (ROMP) website (milwaukeedogparks.org) indicated that the fourth dog park is proposed for either the Bay View or a Franklin site.

The Parks Department went before the county’s Lake Development Advisory Commission May 8 with its proposals for Lake and Bay View Parks. A formal LDAC public hearing on the proposed lakefront locations is anticipated.