UPDATE: Councilmember Brianne Nadeau says she spoke to the chairman of the WMATA board and they don’t have any immediate plans about the dog park. They’ve made a list of parcels they don’t need anymore, which includes this one, and sent it to the city in case the city wants to buy it — so that’s maybe a good sign. Here’s more from her:
Neighbors –
I’ve gotten some calls from neighbors concerned about the 11th and Park dog park and I wanted to make sure folks had all the info. I just got off the phone with the Chairman of the Metro Board and he has assured me there is no immediate action being taken on the parcel which is owned by WMATA. WMATA has made a list of all the parcels they no longer need and would like to sell and this is one of them. They’ve submitted the list to the District government for review to see if we’d like to acquire the parcels ourselves. The District will have all the time we need to consider that opportunity. Initially WMATA indicated to some community members that it might be considering this issue at a public meeting early this week, but I have been told that’s not the case.
Over the past three years I’ve been working with the 11th and Bark community group to help them position themselves as the primary operators of the parcel and to keep the park open. I will continue to work with them and all the residents who are interested to ensure we can preserve this space for community use. The stewards of the park have put in countless hours of dedicated volunteer time to maintain the space and it’s a beloved spot in the community, and I know it’s important for our residents and their furry friends that it continue.
If you have any additional questions or comments, my inbox is always open at bnadeau@dccouncil.us or you can call my office at 202-724-8181.
Original post below:
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If you have a dog, this may be big news: 11th and Bark, the nonprofit that helps run the the friends of the dog park at 11th and Park Rd, report that WMATA, which owns the land where the park is, is interested in selling it. They’ve created a petition to oppose the sale, directed at WMATA, Councilmembers Jack Evans and Brianne Nadeau, and WMATA board member Corbett Price.
Newly elected ANC 1A06 commissioner Angelica Castañon put out a flyer about the events: last year, 11th and Bark were in talks with WMATA to lease the land, until suddenly the talks stopped. After some research, 11th and Bark learned that WMATA had an interested buyer and were going to talk about “next steps” for the dog park at their Jan. 23 meeting. That doesn’t sound good for dog park supporters.
If you’d like to keep the park, sign the petition (and better yet, call or email the people listed on it.
And so far, so good for the dog park defenders: WMATA board member Price says on Twitter he’ll be trying to save the dog park.
The lot, on the southeast corner across from Red Rocks and Meridian Pint, has been an unofficial dog park since 2010 if not earlier, and later WMATA gave the OK for it to be a more official, maintained park.
