INDIANAPOLIS -- The dog parks in Indianapolis get a lot of love. But that love has a price -- you have to be a member to use them.
There are four dog parks run by Indy Parks throughout the city:
- Paul Ruster on the east side
- Smock on the south side
- Eagle Creek on the west side
- Broad Ripple on the north side
A pass for one dog is $75 for a year for one park. It will cost you $125 for access to all four parks. The city sold almost 2,000 year-long memberships last year and more than $126,000 off them.
But in the most popular park in Broad Ripple, some dog owners are frustrated at the lack of maintenance.
"With the fact that I'm paying, it would be a little nicer if it was spruced up," Wendy Goldstein said. "I know it's not season right now but the water is not on but it was 75 [degrees] the other day, and the dogs were really thirsty."
Those owners are stuck between a rock and a hard place, wondering where the money goes.
Indy Parks says the fees go into the general parks fund. They don't specifically come back to the dog parks.
There is hope coming for people who want to see improvements. The Broad Ripple park received a $15,000 grant for improvements, and officials are talking with members to get new ideas.
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"We are hopeful we are able to get lots of things accomplished this year," Ronnetta Spalding of Indy Parks said. "Right now we're doing some of those smaller improvements."
The No. 1 improvement on the list is dealing with the mud pit. Indy Parks is considering planting grass or putting down artificial turf. Another is getting rid of the rocks by the trees. Members say it hurts their dogs' paws.
