Residents of southwest Atlanta and their four-legged friends on Thursday celebrated the opening of the area’s first dog park. City officials say that the small project is part of a larger effort to help build equity in public parks across neighborhoods.
Melvin Drive Park, on the west side of I-285, now has a space for residents to play with and socialize their dogs. For years the area was a dog park desert and residents would have had to drive up to nine miles to use the canine-friendly spaces at Mozley Park or South Bend Park.
“This investment cultivates a healthier and more connected community by revitalizing the area with opportunities of engagement, joy and a sense of community pride,” Atlanta City Council member Marci Collier Overstreet, who represents the area, said at the dog park’s grand opening.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ administration and Atlanta City Council have continued to pour record-high funds into both daily park maintenance and new park projects across the city. Melvin Drive Park’s dog park opening also coincides with the installation of a new playground.
The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation uses an equity data tool to help chart which areas of Atlanta may have been left behind while other neighborhoods enjoyed renewed investment in public green space.
Melvin Drive Park is listed as one of the top three parks among the city’s greatest areas of need along with North Camp Creek Parkway Nature Preserve and Stone Hogan Park. Park equity scores are based on various things like cleanliness, accessibility and recreational opportunities.
“If you visited Melvin Drive Park a few short years ago, you would have seen this park was far from where it is today,” said Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Justin Cutler.
Atlanta City Council members doubled the city’s park improvement fund tax contribution during last budget season, bumping the allocation from $16 million to $32 million annually. Atlantans saw the park’s tax increase from 50 cents to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value.
Around the same time, council voted to dedicate another $2.8 million toward park improvements out of the $750 million infrastructure spending package approved by voters in 2022.
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