Since it opened in early December last year, the first dog park built by the City of Yakima has been being enjoyed by dogs big and small and their owners. The Randall Park Dog Park, however, still needed a few finishing touches before it was officially done, and those final details had to wait to be taken care of until warmer weather found its way to the Yakima Valley.
Thanks to very pleasant spring conditions over the last few weeks, the Randall Park Dog Park is now complete and will be formally dedicated during a ribbon cutting ceremony this Saturday, April 18th at 11:00 am. The dog park is located on a 1.6 acre section of Randall Park south of Wide Hollow Creek. The entrance to the dog park parking lot is on the east side of 48th Avenue.
Work on the park started during the summer last year after a dedicated group of dog lovers approached the City about building a place for dogs to roam and enjoy off leash. The group not only helped to design the dog park, but also helped raise money to pay for its construction and helped build the park.
“The people who volunteered their time to turn the dream of a dog park in Yakima into a reality worked very hard to make this project happen,” said Recreation Supervisor Traci Bennett. “They really believed in the value of getting a dog park built on the west side of Yakima and pushed to get it done. Yakima is a great place to live and the addition of the dog park at Randall Park makes it even better for dogs and dog lovers,” said Bennett.
The dog park project involved clearing, leveling, and fencing the area. New water service was also extended to the property that is now home to the dog park. New signage, a pathway, and the installation of dog waste bag dispensers were also part of the project. A drinking fountain for dogs were recently added to the park.
Randall Park is already one of Yakima’s most popular outdoor recreation spots. In addition to the new dog park, several improvements are planned at Randall Park. The City is in the midst of the Randall Park Improvement Challenge, a fundraising effort designed to generate $100,000 in donations from the community to match large financial gifts provided in the fall of 2013 by two individual donors. Money from the community fundraising effort will be combined with the two individual donations and a potential state grant to make more than $500,000 in improvements to Randall Park.
If you are interested in contributing to the effort to upgrade Randall Park, send your donation to the Randall Park Improvement Challenge, Yakima Valley Community Foundation, 111 University Parkway, Suite 102, Yakima, Washington, 98901.