Dear parents of our 4 legged friends and members of our community:
Please take care when you are in the dog park with your dogs. While this summer has been very enjoyable with moderate temperatures and few hot days, the surfaces of the dog park can still reach temperatures that may be dangerous to dogs with air temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s degrees Fahrenheit. In direct sunlight, the concrete, pea gravel, and artificial grass will have a heat island effect by reflecting heat and raising temperatures. These conditions may cause heat exhaustion and heat stroke in dogs.
The Skinner Park Advisory Council and the Skinner Dog Advocacy Committee had worked for over 12 years to bring a dog park to Skinner Park. It’s has not been a secret that we strongly opposed the use of artificial turf in the dog park. The high temperatures of the artificial turf is one of the main reasons we opposed its use in the dog park. The artificial turf was one of the safety concerns we had. While we were successful in advocating and obtaining the land and TIF funding ( your tax dollars) from the City of Chicago for the dog park, the Chicago Park District who were in charge of the design refused to take community input regarding the design.
The Skinner Park Advisory Council has been monitoring the temperatures in the dog park and decided to issue this caution. Our findings are consistent with the other temperature studies that we found when we were doing dog park design research (see below). If you use the dog park, enjoy it safely … your tax dollars paid for it. Some dogs will not know when to stop playing because it’s hot. Only you can tell by monitoring them for signs of heat exhaustion.
– The Skinner Park Advisory Council – an all volunteer nonprofit community group
The readings below were taken on Friday, August 8, 2014 between 3:37pm and 3:40pm when the surfaces were in direct sunlight.
Skinner Park Air Temperature = 79 degree
Skinner Park Natural Grass = 85 degree
Dog Park Concrete Pathway = 104 degree
Dog Park -Gray Painted Concrete = 114 degree
Dog Park – Artificial Grass = 124.5 degree
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As the air temperature goes up, so does the temperatures of the artificial turf and concrete areas. Below is a similar university study. On a 94 degree F day, the artificial turf temperature was 165 degrees.
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Below are screen prints from drsfostersmith.com regarding heat stroke. This is not intended as medical advice but is provided as information for the community. Please see and speak with your vet for medical advice.
