CD 11 Candidate Traci Park Promises Palisades Dog Park If Elected

By MAGNOLIA LAFLEUR | Reporter

The Pacific Palisades Dog Park Working Group announced their endorsement of Traci Park, candidate for Los Angeles City Council District 11, on Monday, April 4, after Park promised to see the project through if she is elected.

The PPDPWG—led by Leslie Campbell, Lynn Miller Hylen and Carol Ross—said they have been working tirelessly on a volunteer basis for the past six years for a dog park in the Palisades.

“The trail has been long and we have worked very hard; Lynn is the brain, I am the heart and Carol is the soul of this very important project,” Campbell said.

When Park got wind of the group’s efforts, Campbell said she sent her a letter explaining the situation.

For over 35 years, Campbell explained in the letter, Palisadians have been vying for a “safe, off-leash dog park” in the community, which prompted Cambell to personally acquire 4,000 signatures and emails that were presented to Councilmember Mike Bonin.

“Bonin made it a campaign promise and formed our working group but has done very little to see this to completion,” Cambell’s letter states. “A [2016] ‘Parks Needs Assessment’ survey named the Palisades Dog Park as the #1 Priority for Palisades and Brentwood funding. There is currently $1,018,167.07 in that account. In 2020, the PP Dog Park was granted $250,000 of those funds by Mike Bonin and the CD 11 Deputy but we see no reason why we shouldn’t be granted the full amount of the estimated $850,000 construction cost … since the money is sitting there unused.”

In order to build the Palisades Dog Park, the group is proposing that Bonin, or his successor, allocate funds from the city that they say are “readily available.” Noting that it is an “absolute priority” to bring a dog park to the Palisades, Campbell and her team emphasized the necessity, explaining that the Palisades Recreation Center is “fed up” with people using their space due to the lack of an official park.

“Every neighborhood should have a safe, clean dog park,” Park said to the Palisadian-Post. “This just felt like another example of the city ignoring basic needs of local residents, while making things like traffic, commute times, and quality of life worse. So I reached out to the neighborhood advocates who had already done the work to learn more and to find out what I could do to help.

“I met with them, learned the history, visited the location and realized that this was such a simple thing that thousands of local Palisadians supported.”

Both Cambell and Park said bringing a dog park will not just be great for dogs, but for the community as well.

“Dog parks provide a destination and gathering place not only for the dogs, but for people, who despite whatever differences they may have, share the commonality of loving their pets,” Park said. “Thousands of people in the Palisades have dogs, and they deserve a place to gather, relax and enjoy.”

To reach the PPDPWG, email palisadesdogpark@gmail.com.