Aspen City Council turned down an idea Tuesday to create an enclosed area in a public park specifically for small dogs.
In a 4-1 decision, a majority of council members felt that a small-dog park wasn’t necessary and that the onus for good doggie behavior should rest on individual owners.
A few weeks ago, part-time Aspenite Susan O’Neal requested that the city establish a small-dog park, citing a danger to small dogs posed by large dogs. The council agreed to have the city parks department analyze the issue.
The parks department came back to the council with their report Tuesday, where parks personnel told the council they felt the status quo was fine, and that any dog owner should find ample opportunity to recreate in one of the city’s 35 parks facilities.
“Aspen has been seen as a dog friendly town, and has operated as such, for some time,” said parks and open space coordinator Bryan Flynn. “The status quo is to be a responsible dog owner.”
Education about the meaning of responsible dog ownership should be the city’s focus, not providing a cordoned-off area for small dogs, said Flynn and parks and open space director Stephen Ellsperman.
“We’re not going to solve the problem or perceived problem with this experiment,” Ellsperman said.
City officials conducted informal surveys with park users during their small-dog park analysis. Out of 50 returned surveys, 20 were in favor of a small-dog park, according to Flynn, who added that 47 respondents felt a park set aside for dogs of any size was a good idea.
Three parks were also identified as potential sites for a small-dog run, should the council have chosen to go that direction. Those parks were Rio Grande Park, Marolt Park and Ajax Park.
Council members, with the exception of Mayor Mick Ireland, agreed with parks staff that a small-dog park was not advisable.
Councilman Steve Skadron questioned how many people in a community the size of Aspen would come to the small-dog park when there are so many park options in Aspen.
Ireland said it would be inexpensive to set up a fence of some kind and see if small dogs and their owners showed up. If they did, then the need would be demonstrated. If not, the city could pull up the fence and go back to the status quo, Ireland reasoned.
Flynn said while the idea of a small-dog-only park is new, the city in 1999 considered a dog park. The idea was passed over by the city council at the time.
curtis@aspendailynews.com
