Chesterfield Dog Park Gets More Parking—Gravel Only This Time

Chesterfield's 6-month-old dog park in is so popular, that parking the cars of dog-owners has become an issue.

City officials talked about maybe spreading around the love and adding dog parks to other city parks, in order to disperse some of the parking.

Other ideas included paving over more of Eberwein to create more spaces. 

But few seem enthusiastic about adding more concrete to what was defined as a passive park.

LATEST UPDATE: City said late Tuesday that the gravel lot is already installed.

UPDATE: The City Council voted Monday night to add 12 more off-street parking spots with gravel only, costing about $5,000. That would bring the total to 46 spaces at the park, by Chesterfield Patch calculations.

The dog park sold over 1,000 memberships (and tags for dogs) during the four months of operation last year, at $10 each.

This year's $30 annual membership has been moving a bit slower, but apparently more people are coming more frequently. Initially, cars were parked on muddy grass when spaces were filled. The city added 12 more paved spaces, for a total of 34.

The city banned street parking in the area. 

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The city's newest park is located behind Dierbergs Market Place, on Baxter Road, with the parking and entrance on Old Baxter Road. The city tore down two houses on the former farm.

City officials said Old Baxter Road is not wide enough for street parking.

The city also offers 45 gardening plots in the park, bathrooms, a walking track around the edge, and the dog park. Girls Scouts plan a butterfly garden.

The council entertained the notion of gravel parking spaces, that would save money over paving. 

Otherwise, city officials recommended hiking the price of dog park membership to discourage high use, and limiting the number of dog tag memberships for sale. 

Mayor Bruce Geiger said a very cursory inquiry among a handful of dog park users over the weekend found that doubling the price of the annual fee wouldn't discourage users.

"It's a very social thing, for the people—and the dogs," Geiger pointed out Monday, after the meeting.

Also at Eberwein: The city was forced to hold a lottery for gardening plots, due to the large number of applicants for the $30 annual opportunity. City workers constructed and installed raised beds for the gardens.

The council also agreed to spend $8,000 on creating shuffleboard courts at the park.