PetSmart Inc. will launch what may be the nation’s first pop-up dog park in central Phoenix. Officials say the concept could address what some say is a national shortage of dog parks.
PetSmart, a Phoenix-based retail-and-services company for pets, will debut the park on Saturday at the PHX Renews lot, on the northeastern corner of Central Avenue and Indian School Road. Company leaders said if the park is well-received, residents can expect to see more of them in other parts of the city and beyond.
The 20- by 8.5-foot metal container will include toys and other play features, lighting, several different kinds of surface areas and clean-up stations, said Andy Izquierdo, vice president of corporate affairs at PetSmart.
“The parks are self-contained in a box, for lack of a better word,” he said. “You’re able to sort of deploy it in different areas. And if that land needs to be used for other purposes, you can pack it up and ship it to another place.”
PetSmart developed the concept after hearing about Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton’s initiative to fill the city’s vacant lots, Izquierdo said. The 15-acre PHX Renews lot has become the testing ground for multiple urban projects, including urban farms and public art.
“We think the pop-up dog park is such an innovative use of that vacant land,” he said. “We thought we could really add something special to the community.”
The company has built several traditional dog parks across the Valley, and Izquierdo said PetSmart regularly gets requests for more dog parks.
“Since we’re headquartered in Phoenix, we really wanted to bring this concept here,” he said. “And if there is enough interest and enough excitement, this is definitely something we hope to take to other communities.”
At $50,000, the pop-up dog park is a fraction of the cost of a traditional dog park. The most recent dog park in Phoenix opened in October at Margaret T. Hance Park downtown and cost the city $370,000.
PetSmart is paying for the pop-up dog park, and Keep Phoenix Beautiful, a non-profit managing the PHX Renews lot, will maintain it. Maintenance is expected to be easier and less costly than that of traditional dog parks, Izquierdo said.
Phoenix leaders have wrestled with demands for more dog parks in recent years. More pet owners have moved to downtown and central Phoenix, and residents in west and south Phoenix have long lobbied for dog parks, said Delia Ortega-Nowakowski, chairwoman of the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Board. The city has six traditional dog parks.
“Until we see at least one dog park at minimum in each (council) district, I will feel that we’re far behind,” she said.
Pop-up dog parks may allow city leaders to address the need without investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in areas that may not be popular, central Phoenix resident Will Novak said.
“I like the idea of do it light, do it quick, do it easy,” he said. “You test it out and see how it works. If it works, then you raise the money to make the addition permanent.”
Councilman Tom Simplot, chairman of the Phoenix Parks and Arts Subcommittee, said the idea is a good one but he doesn’t see it as a replacement for traditional dog parks.
“I’m not sure that it’s a better option. It’s not an either-or,” he said. “There’s no science that says a dog park should go in a particular area. This is a great way to test the water.”
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