By John Schaffner
editor@reporternewspapers.net
Lawn signs line the roads around Chastain Park urging residents and passers-by to check out the Web site www.chastaindogpark.org and support establishing a dog park as part of the city’s largest park.
It is a grassroots campaign initiated by Randall Fox and his partner Patrick Dennis, who co-founded Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces LLC, an organization that has established the Chastain Arts Festivals and the new Chastain Green Market.
The master plan adopted in 2008 for Chastain Park does not include a dog park as a new amenity to be developed.
However, the Web site points to community surveys collected before the master plan was drawn up in which Fox says a dog park ranked sixth among residents’ desired amenities.
The proposed two-acre, fenced dog park project also has the support of the Chastain Park Civic Association, which represents the neighborhoods surrounding the park.
The Web site includes a petition to the city for the dog park as well as a request for financial support to build and maintain the dog park. A Friends of Neighbors of Chastain Dog Park has been formed to provide fundraising and volunteer support for the dog park.
In the meantime, a committee is looking for sites within the park where the dog park could be located. The cost to build the dog park has been estimated at $5,000 to $10,000.