Montgomery Parks is surveying residents within all five Regional Service Centers to help determine possible options for future dog parks.
The surveys are part of a Dog Parks Site Suitability Study currently underway and ask residents of each area to choose from a set of locations determined by parks staff.
Each study area was defined as within a half-mile radius of areas zoned for high-density housing, such as townhomes or multi-family homes, since those residents tend to lack yards.
Staff then looked at existing facilities and graded them on size, proximity to playgrounds and residents (to avoid potential conflicts and noise issues), parking, and safety issues before narrowing the lists to the highest-scoring, most-feasible parks.
Now the surveys are asking for public input by picking the top two preferred locations for a dog park.
In the Silver Spring area, those potential locations are:
Rosemary Hills-Lyttonsville Local Park (2450 Lyttonsville Rd.)
South Four Corners Neighborhood Park (900 Forest Glen Rd.)
Jesup Blair Local Park (900 Jesup Blair Dr.)
Nolte Local Park (200 Denver Rd.)
Long Branch-Arliss Neighborhood Park (8810 Garland Ave.), and
Indian Spring Terrace Local Park (9717 Lawndale Dr.).
Any new dog park in the area would supplement the existing facility at Ellsworth Urban Dog Park.
The locations identified in the study do not guarantee a park will be built there, nor does it preclude a dog park being added at another location, the staff noted.
The deadline for responses is 11:59 p.m. on April 30. For more information, residents can contact the Park and Trail Planning Team by email or at 301.495.2595.
Photo taken at Ellsworth Urban Dog Park by Trish Rimo, used with permission.