Dog lovers will be able to celebrate the grand opening of Phoenix’s first dog park in the downtown area when the Parks and Recreation Department unveils the off-leash activity area at (Margaret T.) Hance Park, 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5. The dog park is located in the northwestern part of the park on Culver Street between 3rd and 5th avenues. After the Oct. 5 grand opening, the Hance Park dog park will be open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“This is the most exciting thing in central Phoenix to impact dogs and their owners in almost ten years!” said Councilman Tom Simplot, chairman of the City Council’s Parks and Arts Subcommittee. “The completion of this dog park also marks the beginning of the master redesign of this park, an integral part of our city core. I look forward to celebrating the efforts of community members and city staff who worked to make this park a reality.”
The dog park at Hance Park features separately fenced areas for large and small dogs with ADA-accessible concrete pathways and decorative wrought iron fencing. The large-dog area is .76 acre and the small-dog area is .23 acre.
There also are chilled water fountains with integrated drinking bowls at ground level for pooches, benches and picnic tables, and 18 large Pistache and Ash trees (up to 15 feet tall at planting).
Along the park’s north edge, which is adjacent to a residential area, there are gabion (stone) wall sound buffers with integrated Plexiglas visibility panels.
Total construction cost was $458,844, funded primarily by the Phoenix Parks and Preserves Initiative. A newly formed community group, Friends of Hance Dog Park, donated approximately $10,000 to the project to fund larger trees, picnic tables and expanded concrete pathways. The group continues to raise funds for future dog park enhancements and is planning regular clean up events; those wanting to join the group’s support efforts can find more information online at: www.friendsofhancedogpark.com.
This is Phoenix’s sixth fenced off-leash activity area for dogs. Details on all of the city’s dog parks are available online at: phoenix.gov/parks.
