Tulsa dogs may be getting more room to roam off-leash.
The city's park and recreation board heard and approved a proposal earlier this month to explore turning Gunboat Park North, near 11th and Elgin, into Tulsa's third off-leash dog run.
"For a city of our size, we're actually underserviced on dog parks," said Thomas Carlson of Carlson Development Group, the real estate firm championing the project near their offices located on Gunboat Park.
The city currently operates only two fenced, off-leash dog parks: Biscuit Acres at 91st and Sheridan, inside Hunter Park; and Joe Station Dog Park at Charles Page Boulevard and South 24th West Avenue, near Newblock Park.
Parks Director Anna America said the Gunboat Park dog run could be a sort of pilot for a program of up to five additional small, community-oriented dog runs.
"The goal will be to see, can we create a small park in a neighborhood that will serve that neighborhood, primarily," America said.
"If this model works, I would hope that we could do many more small-scale, neighborhood off-leash dog runs," she said.
Carlson said maintenance for the Gunboat Park dog run would be managed by an area neighborhood association he founded, and rules and upkeep would be enforced by dog owners themselves.
The park is still in the design phase, and any potential groundbreaking date has yet to be determined, approved or announced.
