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Recommendations and Guidelines for Dog Park Site Selection, Design, Operations and Maintenance <br /> <br />Page 26 <br /> Water source was confusing – is it about places to drink or swim or both? <br /> Not sure that separating kids from dog parks is a desirable thing, having the kids at the park and <br />then a place for dogs in the same vicinity can be desirable as well. <br /> Could the scoring be weighted? <br /> Is there wiggle room in the selection criteria in the times of use, etc. It’s not like there is a formula, it is <br />site by site. <br />Appendix 4: Research from Other Communities <br />Staff and Park Advisory Commission subcommittee members performed research to explore best practices <br />from communities around the country, as well as professional organizations that specialize in pets. The <br />research included internet searches to find out what type of criteria were being used to site dog parks, as <br />well as what kind of design criteria were used to establish the areas. In addition to the web searches, staff <br />and Park Advisory Commission members telephoned and emailed individuals from more than 10 cities to <br />discuss the successes and struggles associated with their public process, design, and maintenance of dog parks <br />in their communities. A range of cities were contacted, including several whose population and makeup were <br />similar to Ann Arbor (university towns), several major cities who have numerous dog parks, and regional <br />facilities in Michigan and other states in the Midwest with similar climate. <br />The questions that were asked included the following. Responses are summarized in the charts: <br /> Do you have criteria to site a dog park? <br /> Do you have criteria for design of a dog park? <br /> Do you have a minimum buffer and/or distance between dog parks and existing resident? If so, how <br />did you arrive at the criteria? <br /> What kind of oversight do you have to enforce rules, monitor behavior of dogs, restrict entry, etc.? Do <br />you have staff on site? <br /> Do you engage volunteers? If so, how? <br /> Do you have any educational programs for the public, such as dog behavior issues they might <br />encounter, complaint procedures, etc.? <br /> What type of decision making process was involved to establish the dog park? <br /> Are you satisfied with how your public process panned out? Were there contentious issues? If so, how <br />did they get resolved? <br /> Do your dog parks include a separate area for small dogs? If so, how large is the area? <br /> What has, in your opinion, worked well in establishment and maintenance of your dog parks? <br /> What would you do differently next time around? <br />In order to compare the responses that were gathered, the following charts outline the responses received in <br />categories to allow for comparison.