COLORADO SPRINGS — The historic Antlers Park in downtown Colorado Springs is getting an update with a new, nearly completed dog park.
“We are tremendously close,” said Colorado Springs Parks, Senior Landscape Architect, David Deitemeyer.
Dog drinking fountains, artistic fire hydrants, play features, and benches (for humans) are all in place.
There are also several rolls of artificial turf that need to go in but have been on hold for several months.
“What we've been stalled out on has been primarily the weather, we have a synthetic turf that's going in for the two areas, we have a large dog area and a small dog area,” said Deitemeyer.
Weather is warming up so he turf should be installed in the next couple of weeks.
While that is happening park planners will be checking on the status of the mystery dog illness that made its way into Colorado at the end of last year.
Animal health experts advised holding off on the park opening.
Deitemeyer said, “That has caused a little bit of a delay as this kind of unknown about that doggy virus, the respiratory virus that's affecting the dogs.”
The dog park is part of update to three historic downtown Colorado Springs parks—Acacia, Alamo and Antlers.
Adding a dog area to an old park is not just a random idea.
It is evidence of public process and designers listening to what the community wants.
“Out of that public process, there was a lot of interest from the community to implement a dog park downtown to provide for the many apartments and units that were going in for all the residential use and downtown Colorado Springs.”
The park enhancement gives added reason for people to use the park that can be overlooked because it is in a low traffic area hidden behind the Antlers hotel.
“It's just not well utilized. There's not a lot of activity that happens down there and so this plan with a dog park is really meant to provide more activation, more use of that space,” said Deitemeyer.
Downtown is the newest location in the city for a dog park.
Public input will influence decisions on future dog parks.
This one should open in the spring or early summer.
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