Barking Lot will be a playground for dogs and their owners
On the northwest side of the roundabout intersection of 12th Street and First Avenue South, there is an empty lot. There are a few trees there and beneath the snow, the grass awaits the spring. It’s a nice little green spot in the center of town. And it’s about to become a lot more interesting to dog owners and their four-legged friends.
That spot has been named the city’s new Barking Lot. No, that’s not some kind of typo, it really is being called the Barking Lot.
It’s going to be a place where anyone can take their dog for a walk.
It will not, however, be a place where dogs can be let off their leashes to run free. That would be a bad idea in an area where there is a lot of people and a lot of traffic.
The Barking Lot is a joint effort of the city government, Main Street Fort Dodge, and Fort Dodge Senior High School.
The city government owns the lot.
Students at the high school will be providing some artwork for the site. Industrial technology students will produce steel sculptures shaped like dogs. They will also sandblast some old fire hydrants provided by the city. After the years of accumulated paint and grime are blasted off these hydrants, senior high art students will decorate them.
Main Street Fort Dodge is coordinating the effort and preparing the site’s final design.
Creating the Barking Lot has been in progress for a couple of years, but like so many other things, it was hampered by the pandemic.
Those involved kept at it, however. The results of their efforts will be seen this spring.
A nice display of teamwork by the city, Main Street Fort Dodge, and Fort Dodge Senior High is yielding a new feature for our downtown.