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Dog Park Proves To Be Too Popular, Will Close

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- A popular dog park in Jefferson County is proving to be too popular and that may be its downfall. A meeting to discuss the future of the dog park was rescheduled until next week.

Elk Meadow Dog Park near Evergreen is just too popular. There is competition for parking spaces and once dog owners do find a place to park at the off leash dog park, there is the poop problem.

Elk Meadow Dog Park
Elk Meadow Dog Park in Jefferson County (credit: CBS)

It's more than just a pesky poop issue. Community volunteers have picked up hundreds of pounds of dog poop from the park and surrounding areas but despite that, and a campaign to urge dog owners to pick up the poop, it's still piling up.

One of the unintended consequences is E. coli build up in a nearby stream. Recently, the E. coli levels measured 20 times the normal amount.

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(credit: CBS)

One dog owner who frequents the park believes Jefferson County Open Space is trying to do a good job of talking about the problem but not enough in the way of finding a solution.

He believes it could be as simple as better enforcement of the rules.

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(credit: CBS)

"Enforce your current rules or make new rules that you can enforce. They're not doing that. Five hundred pounds of waste was picked up. Not a single ticket ever existed for any dog that left waste and that's a rule in the books," said dog owner Jeff Groom.

Other issues facing the dog park are just too many people. An estimate of 4,000 people visit the area each week which could lead to erosion issues and a parking nightmare.

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(credit: CBS)

The closure will be temporary but it could be three years before it may be reopened.

When the park will close will be addressed at a public meeting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 2 at the Buchanan Recreation Center located at 32003 Ellingwood Trail. The meeting was initially scheduled for Thursday but was postponed until next week because of the snow and road closures.

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