Drivers asked to share the road

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Drivers: Be aware and be courteous.

That’s the message supervisors on the Lakewood Ranch Community Development District 4 board and leaders of the Lakewood Ranch Dog Park club have for drivers using the access road for the Lakewood Ranch Dog Park.

At their last meeting, CDD supervisors raised concerns about safety on the one-vehicle roadway, which runs from the back corner of Greenbrook Adventure Park’s parking lot to the Dog Park entrance. 

“We really don’t want to restrict automobile traffic on that road,” Supervisor Keith Davey said, noting the district could add a separate path for pedestrians. “But, we prefer not to incur any additional expense.”

The concrete road leading to the park already is bordered on both sides by a shell pathway, for most of the length of the road. However, pedestrians, bicyclists, skateboarders and other use the concrete portion of the road regularly.

In response to a request from Town Hall officials on the matter, Dog Park President Cliff Kaplan on Tuesday sent an email to dog park members reminding them to share the roadway. 

He said that although Dog Park members aren’t the only ones driving vehicles there — Lakewood Ranch residents often drive and park there to walk over a bridge to the Heron’s Nest preserve area or for soccer practice at the adjacent fields, for example — park members produce the bulk of vehicular traffic. He expects members to cooperate. 

“It’s common courtesy to slow down,” said Kaplan, who regularly takes his dog, Travis, to the park. “It’s already marked 15 mph. (If you aren’t sure what to do), just pull over to the side.”

The existing dog park entrance road is a maintenance-service road for Lakewood Ranch Town Hall's operations department. The main dog park entrance is located there, with another entrance at the opposite end of the park.

A group of Lakewood Ranch residents and Town Hall Operations Director Ryan Heise are working on plans to potentially develop a community garden adjacent to the park. Parking likely would be in the grassy should area of that road. Kaplan said those plans, if they come to fruition, also will add more vehicular traffic to the roadway.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].