At least one dog park already exists in Maui County, located off Kapili Street in Wailea.
While supporters of dog parks admire the 90-by-70-foot, fenced-in park for dogs to roam free of leashes, they say the facility developed by the Wailea Community Association is too small. A decent dog park should cover at least an acre, they maintain.
Council Member Mike Victorino, who introduced legislation to permit dog parks in Maui County, said another location might be the floodwater retention basin off Waiale Road and makai of the Kaimana and Halemalu neighborhoods of the Kehalani subdivision in Wailuku. The area near the Maui Community Correctional Center already is a favorite hangout for dog lovers and their pets.
Victorino said some of the other places under consideration for dog parks include a portion of Kalama Park in Kihei (but only after the South Maui Regional Park is completed), an area behind the tennis courts at the Lahaina Civic Center and an area near War Memorial Gym in Wailuku.
"It's all just talking now," he said. "We haven't made any firm plans. We also needed the rules so people could pick a spot. I'm so glad it's finally moving after all these years of discussion."
A dog park is a fenced-in area where unleashed dogs can roam free, as long as the dogs are closely supervised by their owners and have nonaggressive temperaments.
The fences are up to 6 feet high with a double-gated entrance, which provides a sort of staging area where leashes can be removed before dogs enter the main park. Enforcement of rules and etiquette is typically handled by volunteers.
Dog owners are responsible for picking up after their pets, and dispensers and bags will be set up outside of each dog park.
Most of the dog parks will be lots of open space, said Department of Parks and Recreation Director Tamara Horcajo said. However, some dog parks on the Mainland have become pretty elaborate, with donated benches, trees and even pavilions, which organizers often use to raise money by selling memorial plaques.
