Finally! O4W pups to get space to frolic in Freedom Park

• Old Fourth Ward Freedom Barkway Corporation

Freedom Park is about to get its first dog park.

Old Fourth Ward's four neighborhood associations have been working in partnership with the Georgia Department of Transportation and the city to open the community’s <a href="http://www.atlantamagazine.com/article/from-drug-market-to-dog-park-the-rebirth-of-renaissance-park/" target="_blank" "target_blank">second off-leash dog park. After more than a year of planning, the grand opening of the space is scheduled for March 21 at 1 p.m.

In honor of its proposed home off of Freedom Parkway and Boulevard, the park will be named <a href="http://www.freedombarkway.com/" target="_blank" "target_blank">Freedom Barkway. Its installment will be the first time in history that the Georgia Department of Transportation has allowed the use of its land for a dog park, according to R.J. Morris, an Old Fourth Ward resident and chief operating officer of the Old Fourth Ward Freedom Barkway Corporation.

The two-acre dog park <a href="http://www.freedombarkway.com/?page_id=19" target="_blank" "target_blank">will be divided into two spaces — one for large dogs and the other for smaller dogs. Owners of the four-legged creatures will be able to enjoy numerous sitting areas and walkways linking the park to nearby streets. Work on the park's basic elements is underway. Future plans include splash pads and water fountains for dogs.

Morris says he thought the two acres of unused land was a waste of public resources, which helped spark a group of neighbors to brainstorm how the land could be better utilized.

“A group of us Old Fourth Ward neighbors got together two years ago and tossed around ideas on the best way to promote its usage,” he says in an email. “From the very beginning, everyone just kept talking about how much we needed a large off-leash dog park closer to Downtown Atlanta."

Morris said support for Freedom Barkway began with a grassroots campaign that garnered more than 2,500 signatures of support in less than 30 days. This grabbed the attention and support of Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall and Fulton County Commissioner Joan Garner, both of whom represent and also live in the neighborhood. Hall and Garner’s backing helped land meetings with GDOT and the city’s parks department.

“It did take some time to work through the bureaucratic red tape,” Morris says. “But the GDOT people were very supportive from the start as well as the City of Atlanta Parks Department.”

According to its website, the nonprofit has raised around $20,000 for the dog park, most of which came from private donations and proceeds from the group's Howl’oween Parade and Festival. Freedom Barkway also plans to launch a Kickstarter program in the next 30 days to raise even more cash.

“Freedom Barkway is a great promotion catalyst for the Old Fourth Ward in addition to being another great amenity,” Morris said. For more information, <a href="http://www.o4wbark.com" target="_blank" "target_blank">visit the group's site.

NOTE: The rendering on this post has been replaced at the request of Morris. He says the entrances to the dog park in the earlier rendering have been changed.