With the removal of a few trees last week, work on the dog park in White Hall City Park is underway.
Residents, as well as city officials, have long wanted to build one, said Jeff May, White Hall assistant to the mayor.
Mayor Noel Foster said recently that “the dog park has been a priority for the City Council, and they have asked that we get this project underway.”
May often works on special projects and is overseeing the construction of the off-leash dog park.
Many people don’t realize, but there is more to the design than fences, and Foster said “the city must be sure that the dog park is safe for the dogs and owners.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
McClelland Consulting Engineers Inc. of Little Rock completed the design plans, and the city will pay for the work as it’s done, with the city’s Public Works Department completing as much of it as possible.
The dog park will be next to the skate park.
FEATURES TO BARK ABOUT
Edwin Hankins IV, the landscape architect and project manager, worked on the White Hall dog park and said, a park “is all about the dogs, but it’s not always all about the dogs.”
MCE designed the Sunset Lake Dog Park in Benton and is working on the Arkansas Arts Center construction project in downtown Little Rock.
Hankins said there’s more to a dog park than a fenced-in box with an entrance and exit, including elevations relating to proper drainage along with the appropriate fences and heights, and sally port entryways and exits for safety.
Before tackling the project, May said he visited several parks in Central Arkansas and followed the construction of the one located next to MacArthur Park in downtown Little Rock off East Ninth Street.
“I looked at the different features,” before settling on ones like fire hydr ants, covered tunnels and planks of different levels, May said.
Like the one at MacArthur Park, Hankins said, the White Hall plans call for separate areas for small and large dogs on the approximately quarter-acre, mostly shaded lot.
The recent removal of the specific trees will give dogs plenty of room to run, and the gates are designed for safety, Hankins said.
The park must also meet the needs of humans.
May said the city plans to build two pavilions, so visitors can sit and watch their canine friends play.
These are designed so the two can be covered in the future if the city wants, Hankins said. There will be benches as well.
Most importantly, May said, “I want a dog park that the public enjoys and wants to visit.”
City officials hope to complete the project this coming summer.