What's That, Girl? The OLA Is Above A Cistern?
If you ever used or thought about using the off-leash dog park in LaSalle Park, BuffOLA now needs support more than ever. The Buffalo News just recently reported this story on February 15 and Reed Stevens, chairman of BuffOLA, sent an e-mail out with details about the newly arisen situation.
The off-leash area (OLA) is on land controlled by the Buffalo Water Board and the park is above an underground water tank. Due to fear of contamination, the Water Board has seen it fit to say that a dog park is not best to have above a water storage site. That being the case, BuffOLA is now looking for a new area.
However, they need stories and support from the users of the park, all of which you can direct here: http://microparks.BuffOLA.sgizmo.com. This feedback will be used to make suggestions for the new dog park as well as show city officials on why this is so important to dog owners in the area. Some improvements already on the itinerary include more fencing, access to drinking water, and a small dogs only section.
According to the Buffalo News, City water officials may have already located a suitable parcel in LaSalle Park that is located southeast of the current dog park. Though it seems Stevens is not so sure that this would be the optimal place for a dog park, it seems a good start and shows a willingness of city officials to help create one.
The picture featured with this post is a dog park located in Manhattan and is what a new dog park could potentially look like. The more support from the users of the dog park, the more likely something like this could be seen in LaSalle Park very soon. Especially since Stevens said in his e-mail that the parent board of BuffOLA, the MicroPark Project, is a finalist in a bid for over $100,000 from the 21st century fund through the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. Users of the dog park may therefore be seeing a change in scenery and a great update to an obviously enjoyed OLA.
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mbhxam
Only in Buffalo...once again, total lack of planning...
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AvaRouge
LaSalle seems to be about as good as any, does the Conservancy have an issue with a dog park in the Olmsted parks? A large citywide dog park is great- but how about a few small ones in the future perhaps downtown or where there are large numbers of multi-family units (Allentown?).
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magnum
Is the entire Lesalle park in danger? I doubt the underwater tank is that large. If it can't be moved somewhere else within Lesalle park, then put a nice fenced in area in Prospect Park on Porter Ave, throw down a ton of woodchips, plant some trees, etc. Prospect park is huge, under utilized and closer to the people. I say we change the name of the Park to Prospect Hill Park. If Boston can have Beacon Hill, it's time we have one too :)
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al-alo
does this mean i have to stop going to the bathroom there as well?
really thou, this park was/is great. but it would be even greater to have parks in the neighborhoods around the city. i dont want to have to hop in the car all the time. im sure a lot of other dog owners would agree, they would like to walk to their neighborhood park and take the pooch off the leash.
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Joshua
So, having the baseball diamond on top of a water tank was a good idea??? Is this tank being used anymore, why not dig it out?
The OLA should stay at LaSalle Park, finally people were going down there and using it ,even it was to bring their dogs. If you wanted to walk along the river, you could, with your dog in fact.
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RaChaCha
If I'm remembering correctly from the Indistrial Heritage Committee tour of the Col. Ward Pumping Station, the tanks under the playing fields are part of the pumping operation and city water supply - essentially an underground reservoir. In the last couple of years cities have become very sensitive (in some cases, like in My Fair City, oversensitive) to any potential contaminant of the water supply, driven by rather extreme federal regulations that are being rolled out in a post-9/11, post-bird flu scare mindset. In my city, for example, we have open-air reservoirs which are centerpieces of a couple of our Olmsted parks. To try to comply with the new regulations, our water bureau is actually looking at covering the reserviors with plastic "pool covers" - and possibly having to mar the distinctiveness of these parks by building water tanks (!)
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nonono
you actually took a tour of the Col. Ward pumping station?
wow, and they say I have too much time on my hands!
dont sweat the pool covers, my grandmother kept her Fautille and faux Louis suite slip covered in plastic for years, and the garden club ladies never raised an eyebrow or a single objection, but as you say, those were simpler, gentler, pre 9/11 days.
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sbrof
I doubt that the whole dog park is over the reservoir, and if so why not just shift it over as needed. Someone needs to find plans of the water tank and overlay the current dog park onto it.
I also find it hard to believe that the underground tank has no roof.. Come on, last I checked metal or concrete are pretty good at keep things out. Plus What if the current area that is covering the tank is made into a small dogs only park (smaller dogs = less waste). Then expand the OLA next to but away from the tank boundaries.
The truth is this is a total lack of planning and the people at the water board, city and OLA need to sit down with facts and maps to figure out the real concerns and areas affected. This should be done before the decision to uproot and move the whole dog park someplace else that people need to find and get accustomed too.
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al-alo
my name is al-alo, and ive also taken a tour of the Col. Ward pumping station...
at first i used to just visit places like museums and historic houses, then I would casually walk through abandoned relics like the central terminal. next thng you know i started taking walking tours...first a couple times a season. then a few times a month. next thing you know, i was taking tours of the pumping station.
soooooob. im soo ashamed . . .
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comptart_lws
BuffOLA has been a real boost to the usage of LaSalle Park and it would be a cryin' shame if this can't be resolved in a way that keeps OLA in the same waterfront park. The park is very large, if OLA has to be relocated, maybe the "blessing" of this faux paw (heehee) is that we will be able to get a separate small-dog area and both areas will have include a tree or two for some shade.
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lulu
More shade and fresh water. Otherwise, LOVE the OLA!
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Mariner
I know nothing about dog parks as far as size. But there is a lot on the corner of Park and Allen that is good size and totally under untilized. Looking at the pic I could envision this looking the same way. Fence add a bench or 2. It would be a nice urban dog park. Of corse I know nothing about this lot but it has looked like junk for a while.
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Joshua
Mariner - that also may be a good place at Allen and Park, to have a small dog park.
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jerrym99
For those wondering about the "cistern" under Lasalle Park, it is not small and very immoveable. It is very thick concrete on top and bottom with hundreds of concrete pillars supporting it. Was built in the 1930's to replace the Best street Reservoir, when War Memorial Stadium was built on that site. It holds about 12,000,000 gallons of water. Can't remember the exact size but is hundreds of feet long and wide.
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jerrym99
For those wondering about the "cistern" under Lasalle Park, it is not small and very immoveable. It is very thick concrete on top and bottom with hundreds of concrete pillars supporting it. Was built in the 1930's to replace the Best street Reservoir, when War Memorial Stadium was built on that site. It holds about 12,000,000 gallons of water. Can't remember the exact size but is hundreds of feet long and wide.
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Charger
jerrym99, thank you for answering a question that came to mind the other day - if Buffalo had ever had a big hilltop reservoir, and if it did, where it was.
Mariner and Joshua, that lot is owned by the owners of the Towne Restaurant.
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