In 2001 the Portland Parks Bureau asked SWNI to give recommendations on where dog off-leash areas could be sited in Southwest Portland parks. SWNI formed a committee with representatives from all SW neighborhood associations. The committee worked for 8 months to prepare a report of recommendations to the Parks Bureau (see Final_Report_2.4.pdf attachement below to view the entire report). On November 20, 2002 the full board of the SWNI approved the report and directed that it be sent to the Parks Bureau. Click here to see the minutes of that Board meeting.

Here is the Introduction and Overview from the report:

Introduction

Portland Parks & Recreation decided that there should be dog off-leash activity in at least some Portland Parks. This Committee was charged with the task of finding the most appropriate areas in Southwest Portland Parks to site such activity. The Committee developed a list of criteria for an ideal dog off-leash area, visited all the parks on the list provided by Portland Parks and some other properties, weeded down the list to four candidates. Then using the criteria again, the Committee ordered the four remaining parks as follows: Hillsdale (OLA), Willamette (OLA), Duniway (OLH), Gabriel (OLA). The Committee has determined that although no one park meets all of the criteria, there are areas in parks that could be successful if: 1) multiple areas are opened so that no one neighborhood/OLA is overburdened and 2) government agencies, neighborhoods, dog owners, and dog advocacy groups all work together for the success of dog off-leash activity. It is the hope of this Committee that this report will be used to start this cooperative process and that it will lead to a more enjoyable park experience for dog owners and non-dog owners alike.

Overview

Here are some links if you want to be involved with developing/improving dog off-leash areas or hours: