Astoria Residents Split Over Adding Dog Park to Aquatic Center Plan

Astoria Parks and Recreation Department and design firm Mackenzie Inc. released results on Feb. 20 from two public open houses and an online survey that put an Aquatic Center expansion first and an off-leash dog park second in community priorities, but residents remain divided over whether a dog run should be added to planning. The engagement included an open house on Nov. 15, 2025, a second open house on Jan. 24, and an online survey that ran from Jan. 6 to Feb. 5.

“We had 1,000 responses on that online survey so that was really gratifying,” said Astoria Parks and Recreation Director Jonah Dart-McLean, summarizing the level of participation. The survey broke out timing preferences for the Aquatic Center expansion, with “over 250 responses saying that the expansion should be completed within 10 years, with over 500 asking for it to be completed within two.”

Community comments pushed a mix of program and accessibility requests alongside expansion interest. Respondents asked for “longer open hours, better access for people with disabilities and increased swimming lesson offerings,” and Dart-McLean said the proposed expansion concept “could be an ‘indoor flexible recreation space. … It’s not concrete what we would do with it,’” indicating design options remain under consideration.

The survey asked participants to rank eight potential projects; organizers reported that two rose to the top as far as responses and comments. The full list included: expansion to the Astoria Aquatic Center; an off-leash dog park; Heritage Square development; installing public restrooms at Fred Lindstrom Park; installing public restrooms at Riverwalk and 9th Street; replacing aging playground equipment; completing lighting on the Riverwalk; and updating the 2013 Trails Master Plan.

Social media captured local advocacy and site suggestions but did not appear in meeting minutes. A Facebook post stated, “I can assure you a dog park is one of the new programs on the residents wish list. ... Astoria residents seek quality dog run location.” An Instagram post asked, “~10,000 sq. ft. of added indoor recreation space at the Astoria Aquatic Center? A Dog Park at Tapiola Park? We want to hear YOUR feedback in”, signaling that community members floated a Tapiola Park location and a roughly 10,000-square-foot addition in public discussion.

Officials framed the results as a milestone in a longer planning process: “This marks the halfway point in the department’s Master Plan process. The plan will guide the department’s goals over the next 10 years.” The release did not include a final decision timeline or a vote count on how many respondents explicitly supported versus opposed an off-leash dog park; staff will fold the feedback into the Master Plan work as design options are refined.

With the Master Plan at its midpoint, Parks and Recreation and Mackenzie Inc. now face weighing the survey’s numerical signals, 1,000 responses and the timing preferences for expansion, against the clear community split over an off-leash dog park as they draft priorities for the next decade.