Dog Park fetches upgrades

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Members of the Lakewood Ranch Dog Park are barking with enthusiasm in support of changes coming to the facility.

As Lakewood Ranch Town Hall’s operations department prepares to install a new keyless access system, it will use the opportunity to reconfigure the park’s entrance, which currently has one shared fenced-in area through which dogs and owners can enter into either the small or large dog park.

“At times, you’ve got people coming in and out, and dogs are congregating in that foyer,” said Cliff Kaplan, Dog Park president. “Dogs are dogs. They’ll bark or snarl. If one’s on a leash, it’ll protect its owner. It can get nasty. It’s a safety issue.”

The change, he said, has been on his wish list. He visited three other dog parks to determine the best design and worked with Town Hall’s operations department to finalize the plan. The new entrance, which likely will be finished by the end of March, is the concept used at the 17th Street dog park in Sarasota.

Kaplan, who takes his dog Travis to the Lakewood Ranch park twice a day, said having separate gates for the small and large dog parks will help eliminate fights between dogs, who play well once together off leash inside the park.

Operations Director Ryan Heise said the keyless access project includes the installation of a new metal-roof pavilion that will have solar panels to provide power to the new keyless system.

Once the new keyless system is in place, dog park members will pay $50 for a key to the facility. Town Hall previously had to issue new keys to the park each year.

“Over the years, it certainly will pay for itself,” Heise said.

In total, Lakewood Ranch Community Development District 4 will spend about $20,000 on the project.

By the numbers
2 - Parks

3 - Acres

$50 - Cost of an access card

340 - Members