COLA - Citizens for Off-Leash Areas in Seattle, Washington

16/10/2024

🚨 Community Meeting Alert! 🚨

Seattle Parks & Recreation is hosting two important meetings about the upcoming Off-Leash Area (OLA) developments at West Seattle Stadium and Othello Playground! 🐕🌳

📅 Dates:

• October 23, 4-6 p.m. at West Seattle Stadium
• October 24, 4-6 p.m. at Othello Playground

Without community feedback, Seattle Parks will continue to develop very small OLAs that are insufficient for the population of dogs in Seattle. This is your chance to provide feedback, ask questions, and help shape the design of these new off-leash areas!

13/01/2024

Our friends at Seattle Animal Shelter are hosting a vaccine clinic this coming Thursday, January 18. This is the first in a series of clinics. Please share with those in need!

22/12/2023

200 cubic yards of engineered wood fiber was laid down at Westcrest this week. This area had seen very little use since coarse gravel had been installed during the drainage project in fall of 2022. Initial impressions are very positive! We will see how it holds up in hopes that it’s a solution we can use at other OLAs.

26/07/2023

Seattle Parks and Recreation is deciding where to build two new off-leash areas, using $3.4 million in funding that dog owners rallied for in last year's Parks District funding process. Read more about how to be heard in our latest newsletter at https://conta.cc/3OtO2NB or access the survey directly at https://tinyurl.com/seadogsurvey (be sure to ask for more space!). Respond by July 31.

05/05/2022

Seattle is planning the budget for the next six years of the Parks District funding. Sending an email only takes a minute, at it goes a long way towards adequate funding for our dog parks.

In 2014, Seattle voters formed the Seattle Parks District, which supplements the Seattle Parks & Recreation’s (SPR) budget by over $50 Million per year. This money is allocated on a six-year cycle. In the first cycle (2015-2020), only about $100,000 of the $50 million per year in Parks District mo...

17/11/2021

What's going on at Westcrest? The main off-leash area is closed through spring 2022 for significant drainage work. While the long closure will be painful, we hope the end result is worth it. The work includes regrading, swales, resurfacing and underground drains. This should improve access and rainy season conditions for years to come.

In the meantime, the small/shy dog area is still open and a small temporary off-leash area is available on the south end. This closure highlights the lack of available off-leash space in West Seattle, as the nearest large (1+ acre) off-leash areas are Jose Rizal (Beacon Hill), Genesee (Columbia City) and Grandview (SeaTac).

This project is many years in the making. More details are available at https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/projects/westcrest-park-drainage-improvements. COLA was represented in this process by steward Stevo and steward/board member Janice.

04/05/2021

Today is the day to GiveBIG! This is Washington’s annual fundraising drive for local nonprofits, and we need your support. And thanks to matching funds from our board, donations to COLA through GiveBIG up to $2750 will be matched dollar-for-dollar!

COLA has worked to make Seattle dog parks better for over 20 years. Your donations allow us to continue our maintenance partnership with the city for our existing dog parks, and help us speak up for increased funding and more off-leash space.

https://www.givebigwa.org/citizens-for-off-leash-areas

Citizens for Off-Leash Areas (COLA) establishes and enhances safe and enjoyable exercise and recreation areas for dogs and dog owners, provides education and builds community in Seattle neighborhoods.