New dog friendly Bark Park opens in Gulfport

It looks like Gulfport has officially gone to the dogs.
This morning, city officials, community members, and representatives from the Humane Society of South Mississippi gathered to cut the ribbon on an all new dog park. The park consists of two fenced off areas: one for dogs under 30 pounds and one for larger breeds.
Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes tells News 25 that the city is far from done with developing that area near the corner of 34th Street and 8th Avenue and adjacent to Brickyard Bayou. “This has been neglected for a long time and it’s about 40 acres. We have an opportunity to do something with easy access, high visibility, water access. It’s not only going to be a dog park, this is just the start. We’re putting a kayak launch in. We’ve already got the funding for that. We got a grant for this dog park from AARP. We’re going to put in some walking trails, some bike trails. There’s a disc golf course out here, too. This will be a continuing improvement, but it’s just one more opportunity for us to create a better sense of place for residents and visitors.”
The Bark Park is now open seven days a week. Both spaces include watering stations, benches, pet-friendly sanitation stations and after dark park lighting.