$1.2 M dog park in downtown Kelowna officially opens next week

The City of Kelowna spent $1.2 million on a dog park and it’s having a grand opening next week.

The City Park Dog is getting a ribbon-cutting ceremony from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 9. The budget for the park was initially $771,000 but an additional $433,000 was added to get the project done.

Some additional improvements to the park were made at the same time as the dog park, which is included in the total $1.2 million figure. The city added a new section of multi-use pathway, replaced some irrigation systems and did some work on the nearby parking lot.

“This is one of the most unique spaces in Kelowna for dogs — designed to be engaging and fun for both pets and their owners,” the city’s infrastructure manager Mac Logan said in a press release. “We hope this accessible space becomes a vibrant community hub where residents and their pets can connect, play and enjoy for years to come.”

The park is fully enclosed with some tunnels, beams and poles. It’s in City Park at the corner of Abbott Street and Harvey Avenue.

The city’s media relations manager Tom Wilson said the increase in expenses was due to the added work like the multi-use pathway and parking lot work.

“The project has taken longer and expenses increased for a variety of reasons – mainly the archeological investigation and resulting work extended the project schedule and resulted in a significant increase in costs,” Wilson said in an email.

The spot where the dog park is wasn’t getting as much use as the rest of City Park, and Wilson said since more people are moving downtown the city needed another space for people to take their dogs. 

“City Park is the most significant and heavily used public open space in Kelowna. The addition of the dog park activates a portion of the park that was lightly used. The plan for the dog park is intended to respond to the increase in residents living in the downtown near City Park,” he said.