Seattle might soon get a little more dog-friendly.

The city will review several sites this year and build two off-leash dog parks, one of which will be in West Seattle. The $3.46 million in funding, which was set aside by the Seattle Park District last year, includes the design and community outreach for a third park, said Seattle Parks and Recreation spokesperson Rachel Schulkin.

As part of that effort, Seattle Parks intends to study over 30 parks and playfields to assess how feasible adding off-leash dog parks would be. The department will make recommendations based on environmental factors and which neighborhoods have not had dog parks, said Seattle Parks community engagement adviser Danyal Lotfi.

The parks to be studied include Rainier Beach Playfield, Lincoln Park, Ballard Commons, Gas Works Park and Jefferson Park.

Seattle Parks and Recreation hopes to finish the study by late spring and will present its recommendations and findings to community members and the board of Parks and Recreation commissioners, Lotfi said.

Seattle Parks does not have a formal estimate of how many canines live in the Emerald City. When Seattle Parks last studied its dog parks in 2017, the Seattle Animal Shelter estimated 150,000 dogs in the city, though that total has likely grown.

For years, demand for off-leash dog parks exceeded the number of available facilities, said Lotfi. The department regularly receives complaints about crowded spaces and off-leash dogs in nondesignated areas, he said.

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Seattle Parks and Recreation maintains 14 off-leash dog parks, totaling about 28 acres. The newest one, in Denny Park, opened around 2018. Seattle City Light has also separately managed an off-leash area at the Denny Substation since around 2019, according to Schulkin.

A successful dog park is more than “a slab of land with a fence around it,” Schulkin said. While the department’s approach to dog parks in the past was “opportunistic,” staff have learned that a dog park must include good drainage to prevent mud and disease-carrying puddles, flat ground for Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible paths and in some cases, parking access and amenable neighbors.

Schulkin said the department hopes the study can function as a “master plan” so if money becomes available in the future, a list of suitable off-leash sites will be at hand.

“We don’t intend this to be the end-all be-all,” she said. “We just figure we’re biting off a big chunk right now.”