{"id":244481,"date":"2011-08-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-10T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/residents-to-returf-dog-park\/"},"modified":"2011-08-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-08-10T07:00:00","slug":"residents-to-returf-dog-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/residents-to-returf-dog-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents to returf dog park"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Residents<\/a>
Photography by Jarett Boskovich<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

District 3 matches funds raised<\/p>\n

Por David Schwab |<\/strong> Reportero SDUN<\/p>\n

Grape Street Dog Park is more than just a recreational area for Golden Hill residents; it\u2019s an institution. Which is why a recent community fundraising drive to raise $2,000 to returf a heavily used section of it was so successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe basically sat at a card table at the entrance of the park and asked people for money,\u201d said John Kroll, a longtime neighbor, who was among those who fought years ago to turn the 5-acre park into an unleashed dog park. \u201cIn 10 days, we had raised more than $1,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kroll said volunteers, who solicited public contributions between July 4 and July 13, would have remained there until they\u2019d raised the full amount needed for returfing.But they didn\u2019t have to, as District 3 Councilmember Todd Gloria came up with matching funds for the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerous donations ranged from $1 to $150,\u201d noted Kroll.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave $80, and the cost has been nothing for the pleasure it\u2019s given me and my dogs. It\u2019s been one of the best buys of my life,\u201dsaid 86-year-old Chuck Peters, a resident on Elm Street eight blocks away.<\/p>\n

Peters has walked numerous dogs in the park since 1979, before it was legal to do so. He recalls the battle waged against those he described as the againsters and the NIMBYs, to convert the park for dog use.<\/p>\n

The turning point came when Christine Kehoe was the City Councilmember who supported us, and eventually the park became leash-free, he said, adding that followed a period when the city\u2019s Parks Department outright opposed its conversion to dog use, actually sending in rangers to discourage people from bringing in pets.<\/p>\n

But opposition to dogs at Grape Street had the opposite effect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dog park became institutionalized: It became part of the neighborhood,\u201d concluded Peters. And no politician would dare come in and say, \u201cThis can\u2019t be leash-free anymore.\u201d Peters credits turning Grape Street into a dog park with cleaning it up.<\/p>\n

“Back in the ’80s and early ’90s, the park was not utilized,” he said. “We had drug dealers lined up in the parking lot, but nobody in the park itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow,\u201d Peters said, \u201cit\u2019s a beautiful place,\u201d noting the park brings \u201cpeople, and mutts alike,\u201d together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had marriages, funeral proceedings, memorials. It\u2019s inculcated into the neighborhood now,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a positive thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Tully, grounds maintenance manager for Balboa Park, said a marked-off dirt section of Grape Street Dog Park will be returfed Aug. 3.<\/p>\n

He cited limiting irrigation due to the city\u2019s drought ordinance as one reason why resurfacing became necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be installing Bermuda sod to about a 5,000-square-foot heavily used spot between the north and west end,\u201d Tully said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very active area where people like to throw their balls and have the dogs bring them back and gets a lot of wear and tear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tully said the freshly sodded area will be fenced off and posted the entire month of August and likely be reopened sometime in September.<\/p>\n

Fencing off the resodded area will allow it time to rest, said Tully.<\/p>\n

\u201cBermuda grass literally grows laterally,\u201d he noted. \u201cIf you allow it to rest, it allows it to fill back in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tim Doyle, now a Kensington resident, no longer lives right near Grape Street Park. But he still likes it so much he\u2019s willing to drive the extra distance so his rescued pit bull, Fezzik, named after the giant in The Princess Bride, can romp.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s truly a unique experience for both animals and humans,\u201d Doyle said of the park. The people that go there have a special care for their animals: It\u2019s above the standard of most parks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doyle claims the park\u2019s value is much more than aesthetic or sympathetic for dog owners. He believes it\u2019s economic, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would be amazed at how many people bought their home in that neighborhood because of this park,\u201d he said. \u201cIt adds a large amount of value to the homes in the area. There are now probably 20 new businesses\u2014the dog wash, the Whistle Stop, etc. in South Park. It\u2019s great, and the people make it great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best of all, said Doyle, Grape Street Dog Park is a real melting pot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere can you find an area where there\u2019s several hundred people of all races, all ethnicities, in an area where there\u2019s not a church service, or there\u2019s no alcohol served?\u201d he asked.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

District 3 matches funds raised By Dave Schwab | SDUN Reporter Grape Street Dog Park is more than just a recreational area for Golden Hill residents; it\u2019s an institution. Which is why a recent community fundraising drive to raise $2,000 to returf a heavily used section of it was so successful. \u201cWe basically sat at […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":225947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Residents to returf dog park","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-244481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}