The last park of the year to be renovated and dedicated is for the dogs. Literally.
City of Atlanta’s Parks and Recreation Department in collaboration with Park Pride celebrated the completion of a dog park inside Melvin Drive Park on Thursday, Dec. 21. The dog park has a fountain, a doggy shower, and separate sections for large dog runs (over 30 pounds) and small dog runs (under 30 pounds).
A crowd of neighborhood residents and local media gathered outside the gates for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens was on hand and posed for pictures with constituents and their pups following the ribbon-cutting. The dog park is an important addition to the southwest Atlanta neighborhood, said neighborhood planning unit parks and recreation chair Lewis Woodson. “Because a lot of people in this community have dogs,” he said. “We have everything else in this community and we needed a dog park.”
Council member Marci Collier Overstreet (District 11), Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Justin Cutler, and Park Pride Executive Director Michael Halicki all took turns speaking about why the project, which includes renovations of the covered basketball court, was important for the residents.
“Atlanta needs great parks for everybody, no matter where they live,” Halicki said. He mentioned that Park Pride “supported” nearly 200 parks in 2023.
This particular project is something Woodson said took a while, but was worth it. “It truly was a journey,” he said. “Anytime you’re putting something together it’s not always what you want when you start, but you stick with it.”
Cutler said though there won’t be any more park renovations in 2023, there are plans to make future investments in the baseball diamond and playground at Melvin Drive Park.
“There’s a lot more we want to accomplish here,” Cutler said.