Howard & Erna Soldan Dog Park
Now Open!
The Friends of Greater Lansing Dog Parks (FGLDP) is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization made up of dog lovers just like you. Our goal is to create public, off-leash parks for the greater Lansing area.
Position Statement
This is a very challenging time for everyone concerned with the Soldan Dog Park: city, county, neighbors, FGLDP, and park users. Those of us at the mediation made a good faith effort to reach an agreement that would resolve some problems we’ve been experiencing, including congestion at the south end, dogs crowding the south entrance/exit, and excessive noise due to congestion at the south entrance.
We understand that many dog park users are not happy with the mediation agreement. We know that many people contributed money, time, and energy to see Soldan Dog Park – Lansing’s first dog park – become a reality. FGLDP officers believe our decisions were in the best interest of the park, and we take our responsibility for our part in keeping the park viable very seriously.
The Friends of Greater Lansing Dog Parks mission is “to create and maintain safe, off-leash parks where people and their dogs can exercise together.”
Our goals are formally stated in the approved bylaws and include these priorities:
1. To promote exercise for people and their dogs
2. To establish and maintain off-leash dog parks
3. To maintain a safe, secure and clean environment in the
parks
4. To promote responsible dog ownership
5. To promote and provide educational programs that support responsible
dog park behaviors
The money we raise through memberships and activities currently goes to providing the plastic stool disposal bags and Port-a-jon maintenance at Soldan Dog Park. We anticipate using our resources to assist in developing another dog park in the very near future.
Some people who use Soldan Dog Park aren’t even aware of our organization or the role we played in establishing the park. New members have joined us as they discover who we are and what we do. Many of our original members continue to support us; others may believe that once the park was in place, it wasn’t necessary to continue their financial support. In fact, the more members we have, the more effectively we can promote and develop more dog parks.
While some will not see the latest changes as positive, we have learned a lot about building relationships with municipalities and the community and what is important to local dog park users. Please consider becoming a more active participant in our planning and operations as we continue, as our mission states “to create and maintain safe, off-leash parks where people and their dogs can exercise together.”
Join Us for the Dog Paddle
Everybody in the pond! Join us for the Dog Paddle on Friday, May 9th from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM at Hawk Island Park. Share our poster and invite other pooches and their pals.
Parking Changes
Please be aware that from May 1st to September 30th you may not be able to park at the lot in Hawk Island Park on weekends and holidays from 11 AM until 6 PM. More about this soon.
Thanks to the generosity and neighborliness of Ingham Regional Medical Center, we have been able to arrange to use their Pennsylvania Campus parking lot - the one closest to Scott Woods -- on weekends.
Park employees will have maps to hand out at the entry gate to Hawk Island or you can download one from our website. Please place the handout on your dashboard to show you are parking in that lot while you are using the Soldan Dog Park.
E-mail us at:
info@lansingdogparks.com
BECOME A MEMBER and join our email news list!
or write to us at:
Friends of Greater Lansing Dog Parks
P.O. Box 27164
Lansing, MI 48909-7164
Last revised: May 8, 2008