Long-desired dog park planning recommendations provided by Arizona State University graduate students

Since 2008, the City of Apache Junction has developed three plans for an off-leash dog park. However, due to the Great Recession and other municipal financial decisions, these plans have yet to move past the drawing board. While financial barriers held the project back from city council approval, public support for an off-leash dog park remained high. For this reason, Apache Junction wanted to find affordable alternatives and new funding sources to finally create such a playspace for residents and their furry friends.

Apache Junction invited an ASU Project Cities graduate course, and its students to partner in the planning and site analysis to prepare for the city’s long-desired off-leash dog park.

A member of the EPIC-Network, Arizona State University’s (ASU) Project Cities “connects higher education with local communities.”

Project Cities paired this local initiative with a Public Affairs Capstone course. The students began by raising questions for staff to answer, from “Which dog park features do Apache Junction citizens desire the most?” to “Which features are the costliest to implement and maintain?” Other students conducted research throughout surrounding communities to comparative how other Arizona cities utilize different fundraising strategies to construct their own dog parks. 

By employing an array of research methods, from surveying and field observations to literature review, the graduate students analyzed the pros and cons of various siting options and potential costs of installation. This analysis identified possible paths forward—solutions Apache Junction could administer to bring the off-leash dog park to life.

Thanks to investigative analysis and research conducted by the participating ASU graduate students, Apache Junction identified multiple considerations—how construction might be funded, what amenities residents wanted present—for the off-leash dog park.  Recommendations related to these findings included some of the following: 

• Ensuring the site is at least 1 acre in size and offers shade, water, and waste stations.
• Locating the park near a residential area or as an extension of a larger community park.Allocating funds for development from other Parks and Recreation or delayed projects.

Apache Junction now has more of the necessary information based off of the ASU Project Cities student recommendations to determine which planned dog park is best suited for their community. The city council and government now has three dog park plans in their possession, each varying in price, from a park with basic features to a more complex, expensive park intended to better serve the city’s dog owners.

Arizona State University Project Cities Contact
Steven Russell
Program Manager
steven.russell@asu.edu
480-727-2698

City of Apache Junction Contact
Larry Kirch
Director
Development Services
City of Apache Junction
lkirch@ajcity.net
480-474-5082

Read the full story of the partnership.

Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.