Community vote on the small-dog area: final results
Voting opened September 14, 2026 and closed September 27, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Below are every option's final count, in order, followed by the baseline option that was removed before voting ended, how the vote was counted, and what happens next.
Move it to the east end
The current fence comes out and the panels are reused across the east end, beside the water and the children's park. The main area becomes one uninterrupted run, end to end.
- Small-dog area
- ≈17% of the park
- Main area
- ≈83% of the park
- Credited to
- Romy
The path becomes the fence line
The fence follows the existing path from the west gate east to the fence line where it stands today. The south half of the current fence comes out, so the small-dog area becomes the strip along the tree line and the open south strip goes back to the main park. The west gate is rebuilt as a triple out–in–out, serving as the small-dog area’s own way in and out, and a gate in the kept section opens into the main area.
- Small-dog area
- ≈24% of the park
- Main area
- ≈76% of the park
- Credited to
- Alto, Vivi and Robert
Gates only, no fence change
Nothing moves. Two sets of double gates go in along the south fence, one for each area, with no crossing between them.
- Small-dog area
- ≈30% of the park (City’s as-built drawing)
- Main area
- ≈70% of the park
- Credited to
- Alto and Linda
A wide gate anyone can open
Nothing is rebuilt and nothing moves. The locked gate in the dividing fence is replaced with an extra-wide gate that any visitor can open, so when no small dogs are using the small-dog area the two sides become one open run. A sign at the gate asks people to close it again when small dogs are using that side.
- Small-dog area
- ≈30% when the gate is closed (City’s as-built drawing)
- Main area
- ≈70%, or the whole park when it is open
- Credited to
- Linda
Match the City’s original drawing + exchange gate
Move the dividing fence to exactly match the position shown on the City’s own reference drawing, rather than where it was actually built. Add a new exchange gate where the fence crosses, so dogs and owners can pass between the main and small-dog areas. Under this drawing’s split, the calculated main-to-small density ratio (≈2.5×) is lower than the ≈2.9× estimated under the City’s September 17 as-built assumption used elsewhere on this site (see the report).
- Small-dog area
- 0.26 of 1.06 acres, ≈24.5% (per City drawing)
- Main area
- 0.80 of 1.06 acres, ≈75.5%
- Credited to
- Robert
Shrink it where it is
The dividing fence is rebuilt further west, with a gate through it. The small-dog area keeps its position and its shade, and the main area takes the rest.
- Small-dog area
- ≈14% of the park
- Main area
- ≈86% of the park
- Credited to
- Niall and Bryan
Change the rule, not the fence
Nothing is built. The two sides are redefined by what a dog needs rather than its size — a calm side for older, anxious or recovering dogs of any size, and an active side.
- Small-dog area
- ≈30% of the park (City’s as-built drawing)
- Main area
- ≈70% of the park
- Credited to
- Lee
“Keep it as it is”
This choice was added to the ballot as a comparison baseline but was not one of the solutions the community submitted. It was on the ballot from September 14–24, 2026, before being removed, and its votes are not included in the results above.
How the vote was counted
One vote per person, enforced by a verified email address: each ballot was checked against a one-way hash of the voter's email so the same person couldn't vote twice. No email addresses were stored. Voters could back up to three options; each ballot carried a fixed 3-point budget split evenly across its picks (one pick = 3 points, two picks = 1.5 points each, three picks = 1 point each). Share is each option's points as a percentage of ballots cast; because a ballot can back more than one option, shares add up to more than 100%.