Burnet Woods dog park would get less turf, more plants with new design
Reacting to continued criticism, Cincinnati Parks says it will reduce man-made surfaces and increase plants in a dog park it plans for Clifton’s Burnet Woods.
Its latest design calls for 9.5% less artificial turf, concrete pavers and pea gravel; 20% more space for plant beds; and a 2,800-square-foot prairie meadow to attract birds, buffer noise and control erosion. The turf would be free of PFAS, considered a “forever chemical,” parks officials said.
The changes follow “a tremendous amount of valuable public feedback received over the last few years,” parks officials said in a press release.
Much of the feedback has come from opponents who have spoken at meetings, demonstrated at park offices and waged social media efforts since parks began considering a Clifton-area dog park in 2014.
Preserve Burnet Woods is not happy with the process or outcome.
"We're very disappointed that parks is continuing to shoehorn this project into a community with a clear and vocal majority in opposition," the group's president, Cynthia Duval, said in an emailed statement.
Opponents believe a dog park would create noise and leave behind dog waste, harm the natural habitat and take dollars needed for other parks priorities. A November 2022 petition on Change.org, which attracted close to 1,500 supporters, called the dog park "incompatible with existing uses of and facilities in Burnet Woods.”
As designed, the 8,800-square-foot dog park would take up 0.2% of Burnet Wood’s nearly 90 acres, near Jefferson Avenue and Brookline Drive. Parks has committed $300,000 to the project, seeking up to $150,000 more from donors.
Assuming funds are in hand, parks will seek a contractor to build the project in the spring, aiming for a mid-2024 completion.
Officials will continue to take public comment with a new survey that closes Dec. 15.
Seeking input this far into the process "is unethical and a deliberate marginalizing of those most impacted by the outcome," Duval's group said. "It's a denial of lived experience and procedural injustice."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What is the latest plan for Burnet Woods dog park?