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See photos of the new Bear
Creek Dog |
Reprinted from Cy-Fair News Dec. 19, 2006,
1:49PM By KIM THAI Cy-Fair-area dogs will have another park of their own soon when Harris County completes a 35-acre site across from the Houston Farm and Ranch Club. "We anticipate if we continue to have favorable weather that we will have (the dog park) ready for public use by the end of the year or shortly after," said Mike McMahan, Precinct 3 parks special activities coordinator. "We're getting pretty close. . . . What is left are mostly aesthetic things." Park features — which will be divided into facilities for large and small dogs — will include ramps, tunnels and swimming lakes. The as-yet-unnamed park also will feature a 4,000-foot granite walking trail, benches and shaded areas. Work began on the park, which is at Texas 6 north of Groeschke Road, on May 31. The dog park is part of the planned 926-acre Bill Archer Park, named after retired U.S. Rep. Bill Archer. The larger park will be built within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Addicks flood-control reservoir and will be across the highway from Bear Creek Pioneers Park. Precinct 3 is leasing the dog park property from the Corps. Archer Park also will include a science education center, nature trails, playgrounds, picnic areas and baseball and soccer fields. Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack said this won't be the last dog park in his area. He said he will announce the site for the next one at the opening ceremony for the Katy park. Dates for the park opening and ceremony are undetermined. "I think that this will be the finest dog park in the United States because of the size, location and trail system. It'll even be better than Millie Bush." The 15-acre Millie Bush Dog Park, 16756 Westheimer Parkway, opened in December 2003 and was ranked the best in the nation by Dog Fancy magazine in 2005. "Some people think it's a complete waste of money, but the time and use that goes into the dog parks prove otherwise," Radack said. "It's a type of park where a tremendous amount of people get to know each other and find new friends, and it's great for the animals themselves." No construction cost estimate is yet available for the Katy park, McMahan said. The Millie Bush park cost $80,000 to build and the Danny Jackson park cost $50,000. McMahan said both dog parks in Precinct 3 — Millie Bush Park and the Danny Jackson Park, 4828 1/2 Loop Central Drive — have high traffic and demand compared with other outdoor amenities. "Millie Bush and Danny Jackson are probably our busiest day-by-day park locations," he said. "They get more use than our parks with picnic tables and playgrounds or spray parks. "We may have as many as 1,000 people on average visit (the dog parks) on a daily basis," McMahan said. "The weekends are certainly busier than the workdays." Communications Chairwoman Jill Cruz of the Houston Dog Park Association believes the new park will alleviate crowds and traffic at the Millie Bush Park. "We are always excited when a new park opens," Cruz said. "There are currently 10 dog parks in the Greater Houston area, which might sound like a lot until you look at the Greater Houston area being the fourth-largest city in the nation. We could always use more dog parks in the community." McMahan said that he believes that the reason behind the popularity is because many people live in apartments or have a small yard space in their home, which doesn't allow their dogs to run around freely as they should. Cypress-area resident Reagan Hughes recently threw her 10-year-old male Dalmatian, Speckles, a Christmas party at Mille Bush Bark Park, and nine of his canine friends from his personal MySpace page attended. She said she is looking forward to the new location because of the commute and convenience. "It'll be a lot easier to take him to a closer location," Hughes said. "I try to take him once a month; it gives him good exercise. At home he usually sunbathes and doesn't move much, but when he comes here, he's running all over the place and there's more for him to do." McMahan said that the planned park will be able to accommodate about 234 vehicles — more than twice the number as can Millie Bush Park. "The fact that (the Katy park) is much larger will be the most important aspect for the people who use the park on a daily basis," he said. "The park tends to take care of itself better if it is larger, as far as the dogs wearing out the turf. One of our big maintenance issues is keeping the grass growing because of the heavy amount of traffic around the lakes and the walking paths," he said.
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