For Frisky Dogs, Forks Township Plans a Fetching Park: Pet Playground Could Be Near Sullivan Trail. Engineer Studies Cost.

By Joe Nixon, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

May 9–A pooch playground may be coming to Forks Township.

Township Manager Cathy Kichline said preliminary studies, including a site survey, will soon be under way for a possible off-leash canine recreation area on a small part of a 23-acre township tract on the west side of Sullivan Trail between Braden Airpark and Lafayette College’s Metzgar Fields complex.

If the dog park is established, it would be the second in the region. Bethlehem opened a 1.4-acre facility last fall off Illick’s Mill Road behind Bethlehem Memorial Pool.

Kichline said the township had inquiries from residents about a possible dog park and said the idea was later supported by the township recreation board. The township supervisors have given engineer Fred Hay the go-ahead to do a site survey and work up cost estimates.

Township Supervisor Donald Miller, chairman of the supervisors’ Parks and Recreation Committee and director of the township community center, said part of the township land off Sullivan Trail is in the airpark’s “transition zone” which, depending on dog park location, could mean limitations on things like fence height.

However, Miller said the township has other land for a possible dog park if the land near the airpark doesn’t pan out.

He said the Sullivan Trail property is away from residential areas, eliminating potential conflicts that might arise near homes.

Miller said the dog park could materialize this year, provided a site is found and funding is available. “We’re working in that direction. It’s not going to happen overnight,” he said.

Miller and Kichline said the township hasn’t discussed whether a township dog park would be restricted to township residents. Officials said a dog park will require at least an acre. Dogs are not allowed in any of the township’s existing parks.

If experience is a guide, a dog park in Forks would not go unused.

Bethlehem Parks Director Charlie Brown said use of that city’s dog park is high. “It’s heavy. It’s very heavy,” he said, adding there are usually 40-50 cars in the parking lot at any given time.

The Bethlehem facility has two separate areas, one for large dogs and another for smaller dogs. Each area is about the size of a football field. The park is lighted for night use and has water available for the canines.

Brown said a committee helps run the dog park. He noted that the city was able to buy materials for the facility through $18,000 in donations.

“We’ve been very successful. People are diligent about cleaning up,” said Brown.

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