If you’ve been wondering about the construction between the QuikTrip and Braum’s stores in Delano, it’s something that’s been in the works for years: a dog park — and then some.
“It’s a variety of different things,” said Tim Kellams, a principal planner and landscape architect with the city.
The tennis-court-size park will have a gravel area for dogs to play and stretch their legs, but it also will have a path for walking and biking that extends to the east past Seneca.
There’s a separate 54-space parking lot to the west as well.
City spokeswoman Megan Lovely said currently there are 1,185 parking spots in the neighborhood, which includes on-street parking, though no side streets, and private lots.
Kellams said the project came together through “quite a bit of engagement with some of the groups in Delano.”
That’s also been part of the holdup along with the pandemic, which slowed development and caused construction prices to rise, necessitating some reconfiguring.
Kellams said the path is part of the city’s effort to try to expand its bicycle network so riders can hop on the path on one side of the city and not have to get off of it to reach the other side.
Though the park isn’t huge, Kellams said that the idea is to have somewhere for dogs to play, especially if they live in nearby apartments where they may not see other dogs.
“The dog park is a pretty small component of the whole project,” he said.
The as-of-yet unnamed park will be free to use and should be ready this fall.
The cost of the total project is more than $2.6 million.
If that sounds high, Kellams said it’s because it also includes storm water and street improvements along with the parking lot.
“Pavement is one of the things that’s actually pretty costly.”
The biking and walking path already has been paved.
Another cost is the lane closures associated with the project.
“There’s a lot of logistics involved with trying to keep . . . everything open as much as possible, and that kind of adds to construction,” Kellams said.
The dog park, which is almost more of a dog run, is gravel since dogs can wear out grass so quickly.
“That’s one of the concerns that we had,” Kellams said.
Years ago, the property had been part of a railway corridor.
Kellams said the pathway and dog park make sense with the ongoing public and private projects in Delano.
“This helps bring more people to Delano,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff happening in the neighborhood. I think this really shows that we’re thinking . . . forward.”
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