Title
Review Results of the East End/Bay Farm Island Dog Park Survey and Consider Recommendation
Body
To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Recreation and Park Commission
From: Amy Wooldridge, Recreation and Parks Director
Re: Review Results of the East End/Bay Farm Island Dog Park Survey and Consider Recommendation
BACKGROUND
The City Council approved $75,000 in the FY 2021-2022 budget to construct at least one dog park located in East End Alameda or Bay Farm Island. Existing dog park facilities in Alameda include one large dog park with separate small and large dog areas, located at Lower Washington Park off 8th Street and a dog park on Main Street near the ferry terminal. The Main Street Dog Park is temporary and will be closed once Phase 2 of Estuary Park is completed, which will include a new and better equipped dog park.
City staff reviewed multiple city-owned locations throughout East End and Bay Farm Island and considered criteria for feasibility including whether they were city-owned sites, existing park uses, available amenities and potential impacts on neighbors. The three potential locations presented in the survey are the result of this research, located at Krusi Park, Towata Park and Leydecker Park (Exhibit 1).
The city-wide community survey was completed by 1,637 people and was broadly marketed through social media, ARPD email blasts, flyers with QR codes at existing dog parks as well as emailing the survey directly to an interest list and Otis Elementary. Staff also met directly with the Towata family and the Harbor Bay Isle Homeowners Association Executive Director.
Below are details for each location.
|
Krusi Park |
Towata Park |
Leydecker Park |
|
Medium size area with space available for small and large dog parks within existing pathways |
Large available area and further design work would determine actual area for large and small dog parks |
Large area with space for small and large dog parks plus interesting terrain for dogs, not just flat |
|
Restrooms available at recreation center |
No restroom onsite |
Restrooms available at recreation center |
|
Parking is on the adjacent streets. No ADA parking but could be added on Otis Drive with additional funds |
18 parking stalls and street parking including ADA parking |
Parking available including ADA parking. Note that parking directly in front of the proposed location is private parking. |
|
Existing drinking fountain |
Existing drinking fountain |
Existing drinking fountain (located a bit farther away) |
|
Create a buffer area from residential area (80 feet) |
Across the street from residential area (150 feet) |
Closest residence is across the park (275 feet). Adjacent to Temple Israel, Bay Farm Church and two preschools. |
|
Lots of trees and shade |
Lots of trees and shade |
Limited shade on one half of area. Might need shade structures, more trees |
|
Facility hours would be dawn to dusk, the proximity to tennis court lights may encourage usage after dark |
Design would include a visual screen between the dog park and bicycle/pedestrian trail to reduce dogs barking at bikers along the trail |
Maintain adequate space from picnic area |
|
10,000 square feet |
14,500 square feet |
17,000 square feet |
DISCUSSION
The complete information, including all comments, from the community survey is included in Exhibit 2 with an overall summary provided below.
Location Feasibility
This question was based on a scale of 1 (not feasible) to 5 (most ideal). Overall, Leydecker Park scored the highest with over 50% rating it as the most ideal location.
Krusi Park
1 2 3 4 5
17.78% 9.9% 18.63% 21.26% 32.44%
Towata Park
1 2 3 4 5
14.72% 12.28% 20.53% 22.48% 29.99%
Leydecker Park
1 2 3 4 5
11.12% 5.19% 13.19% 20.34% 50.15%
Ranking of all Three Locations
This question followed to give the respondents an opportunity to rank all three locations against each other with the best location ranked 1 and the worst location ranked 3. Leydecker Park was the highest ranked for first and last for the second and third ranking. The rankings between Krusi Park and Towata Park are fairly comparable.
Ranked 1st
Leydecker Park 46.49%
Krusi Park 30.24%
Towata Park 23.27%
Ranked 2nd
Towata Park 43.07%
Krusi Park 32.19%
Leydecker Park 24.74%
Ranked 3rd
Krusi Park 37.57%
Towata Park 33.66%
Leydecker Park 28.77%
The Towata Family was consulted as part of the input process and they are not in favor of a dog park at Towata Park. They feel a dog park is not respectful of the memory of their grandfather, John S. Towata, for whom the park was named in 1991. Mr. Towata was a prominent member of the City’s Japanese-American community, was very active in the community and operated flower shops in Alameda and Oakland. They prefer the park to be beautified with more flowers and natural landscape.
The Harbor Bay Isle Homeowner’s Association is not in favor of a dog park at Leydecker Park, primarily due to concerns of the impact on parking and potential noise impacts for the nearby Temple Israel, Bay Farm Community Church and two preschools.
The survey also asked about dog park surfacing. Two types of surfaces ranked highly - natural grass and artificial turf grass. There are pros and cons to both options. Natural grass requires a much higher level of maintenance including weekly and monthly scheduled closures for mowing, seeding and care. Artificial turf is significantly easier to maintain with lower ongoing costs since it does not require watering. However, it is much more expensive to for the initial construction and requires replacement every 10 - 15 years. There are artificial turf products that are specifically utilized for dog parks.
Another survey question inquired about dog park amenities. The highest ranked amenities were a restroom, drinking fountain, benches and shade. In addition, 65.81% of respondents preferred separate large and small dog areas.
Given that this project has a budget limit of $75,000, the survey included a question on whether to spend those funds on one dog park with more amenities or two dog parks with less amenities. By focusing funding on one dog park, the budget could potentially include more expensive items such as artificial turf, shade structures and more benches. Two dog parks would allow for smaller parks with less amenities and with one located on the East End and one located on Bay Farm Island. This creates more local options for residents but as less developed sites. The survey responses were slightly more in favor of one dog park at 56.11% and two dog parks were chosen by 43.89% of respondents.
Nearly 400 people provided a response when asked for ideas of other dog park locations. All were reviewed by staff and one was determined as a viable fourth potential dog park location site (Exhibit 3). All other sites were not feasible, most either because they were privately owned, were not located on the East End/Bay Farm Island or were already vetted for feasibility. This fourth potential site is on Bay Farm Island in the Harbor Bay business district to the southeast of the ferry terminal and directly adjacent to a vacant, privately owned property with the section of the San Francisco Bay Trail known locally as Parcel 4 to be developed. This site is 17,500 square feet with an adjacent restroom and drinking fountain as well as bicycle parking and street parking.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
In the FY 2021-22 budget, there is $75,000 allocated toward design and construction of a dog park. Depending upon the size and scope of the facility, this will be enough for one dog park but will not be enough to construct two dog parks. If a second dog park is desired by the community, then additional fundraising will be required.
RECOMMENDATION
To review the results of the East End/Bay Farm Island Dog Park Survey and consider a recommendation to City Council.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Wooldridge, Recreation and Parks Director
Exhibits:
1. Three Potential Dog Park Locations
2. Dog Park Survey Compiled Results
3. Fourth Potential Dog Park Location