City poised to create first west Wichita dog park by replacing basketball, tennis courts

An $800,000 plan to create west Wichita’s first dog park will be considered by the Wichita City Council on Tuesday.

The 1.25-acre facility would replace a basketball court and two tennis courts at Country Acres Park that a staff report describes as being in poor condition.

“Harvest Park, which is close to Country Acres Park, has a newly built basketball court and tennis court in good condition,” the report states.

“Removing the existing amenities from Country Acres Park and replacing them with a dog park would reduce the duplication of services and add a new amenity to the community in this part of the city.”

City spokesperson Megan Lovely said the new dog park would likely open by late 2024 if approved by the council.

The city now has five dog parks — one south, one southeast, two north and one downtown. Wichita’s capital improvement plan includes $750,000 for design and construction and $50,000 for public art in 2023 for the Country Acres Dog Park. That park is near Central and Ridge.

The City Council has previously discussed other options for a west Wichita dog park, such as a facility at the 400-acre Pawnee Prairie Park in southwest Wichita. Parks Director Troy Houtman cautioned that the lack of an accessible water source and existing horseback riding paths at Pawnee Prairie made it a less than ideal spot for a dog park.

This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 11:16 AM.