Residents and regular users of the Animas River Trail Richard Reynolds and Paula Lutz are leading the call for more dog parks in Durango, saying dog parks along the popular trail would make it safer for pedestrians, cyclists and pets alike.
They also say speed enforcement of cyclists should be ramped up along the trail, which currently has no speed limit.
They raised the issue after tragedy befell Reynolds’ friend and neighbor of 25 years, Steven Miller, 76, in March. Miller fell off his bike and was hospitalized after colliding with an off-leash dog. He died from his injuries in the hospital two weeks later.
The dog owner remains at large.
Lutz said her idea is to build two dog parks along the Animas River Trail, particularly the northern stretch, so people have a place to exercise their dogs as they’re walking by without interfering with other trail users.
“Five smaller ones would be better than one more big one up at the Mesa,” Reynolds said, referring to the city’s proposed dog park on Durango Mesa where a bike park and event facilities are also planned. “That’s a great idea, but you got to drive to these (large parks).”
Work is scheduled to begin on a dog park on Durango Mesa next year, according to a Durango Mesa Park project budget description in city documents.
The existing Durango Dog Park is a large, wide-open area with natural borders such as the Animas River and Smelter Mountain. But the park, being near the intersection of U.S. Highways 550 and 160 west, is out of the way for many residents and parking is limited to a small dirt lot.
“We are a dog community,” Lutz said. “Everyone loves their dog, and we just need more spaces for some dogs to be exercised than the one big one down at the very south end, that just doesn’t do it.”
The dog parks she proposes for the Animas River Trail don’t need to be very large, but they do need to be adjacent to the trail to serve trail users.
Reynolds said the city doesn’t need to spend much money either. A fenced-off area with a trash can and dog bags should do. A dog park could even be partitioned with sections for smaller and larger dogs to cavort about in comfort.
Dogs at large, by the numbers
Durango Police Department classifies off-leash dogs as “dog at large” incidents, of which there were 31 between Jan. 1 and July 28, according to DPD data. There were 27 dog at large incidents from Jan. 1, 2024, through July 31, 2024.
Eighteen of the 31 incidents through the first half of this year were officer-initiated, meaning a park ranger, code enforcement or other officer approached an owner of an off-leash dog. Data shows 12 incidents occurred at city parks, trails or lakes, only two of which were specifically listed as on the Animas River Trail. Just five of the incidents resulted in a citation.
DPD Police Chief Brice Current said the incident involving Miller was technically filed as a medical assist, not a dog at large incident. But other notable incidents involving dogs at large included an unhoused person’s off-leash dog running in front of a woman riding a bicycle on the Animas River Trail, causing the woman to fall off her bicycle. The dog owner was cited for dog at large.
A DPD officer was bitten by an off-leash dog while the officer was investigating a homeless camp. The owner was arrested for second degree assault.
In another incident, a park ranger was also bitten by an off-leash dog while investigating a homeless camp. In that case, the dog owner was cited for dog at large.
Police Chief Brice Current said DPD has ramped up enforcement of off-leash dog laws along the Animas River Trail and it has witnessed more compliance by residents as a result.
“We want to thank those that lead by example and leash their pets. This is a shared responsibility to create community norms and have positive engagement,” he said. “We ask the public to help us and lead by example and if you see an animal off leash, say something, promote a culture that is framed in community care, not confrontation.”
Some residents said more enforcement of off-leash dogs or speeding along the river trail is necessary because the community seems more cautious after Miller’s death.
“People have kind of tightened up on it since that whole incident,” said Megan, who declined to give her last name, a Durango resident who frequents the Animas River Trail with her mixed-breed cattle dog Indy.
Building dog parks along the Animas River Trail plays one part of making the trail safer for users. Reducing speeding on the trail plays another, Reynolds said.
He and Lutz are asking for an enforced speed limit on the trail, increased signage asking riders to slow down and repainted lines down the middle of the trail to designate lanes.
But posting an official speed limit on the trail might not yield the results residents hope for.
Assistant City Manager Bob Brammer, who led DPD as police chief from 2019 until he joined the city manager’s office in 2024, said at a July 10 Financial Advisory Board meeting that reducing reckless and careless cycling is more effective than enforcing specific speed limits.
“You can be doing 10 mph and being completely reckless, which is endangering other people while not exceeding that speed limit, so this is a (broader) approach,” he said.
Parks and Recreation Director Scott McClain said class 1 and 2 ebikes with maximum speeds of 20 mph are permitted on the Animas River Trail. Class 3 ebikes, which reach top speeds of 28 mph, and any other electric or gas-powered devices are prohibited.
Electrical personal assistance mobile devices such as Segways, analog scooters, skateboards, skates and non-electricical PAMDs are permitted.
Reynolds said people, mainly teenagers, are speeding on electric motorcycles down residential neighborhoods and occasionally the river trail.
Current told The Durango Herald that DPD is also cracking down on illegal electric bikes.
Andrew Allport, co-director and policy director for Bike Durango, said at the FAB meeting that more bike lanes on city roads could reduce bicycle and ebike traffic on the Animas River Trail since cyclists are using the trail because it’s sheltered from vehicle traffic.
“It’s the only safe place to ride a bicycle where you’re protected from traffic. When we see children on the river trail, that’s because there are no other lanes where they are safe in town,” he said. “In fact, children don’t feel safe riding on most of our other streets because it’s a dangerous connection or because you have a shared roadway with cars.”
Cyclists who use the Animas River Trail don’t necessarily want to – they would prefer to ride faster in protected bike lanes – but they don’t have other options.
He suggested replicating the Animas River Trail, relieving pressure by spreading out traffic, instead of coming up with more rules to enforce.
“Let’s just make more of it, whether that’s low-speed streets or whether that’s protected bike lanes in other places in the city,” he said.
Councilor Kip Koso, who initiated an upcoming discussion about off-leash dogs and the city’s options for enforcing leash logs, said the addition of more dog parks has taken a backseat to conversations about enforcement.
He said dog parks could be discussed within the context of reworking the city’s Parks and Recreation master plan. City Council will approve a budget for the master plan next year. It will discuss law enforcement and off-leash dogs at a study session on Wednesday.
cburney@durangoherald.com
