ROSCOE VILLAGE — A newly renovated dog area at Hamlin Park that was meant to improve one of the neighborhood’s most popular outdoor spots has instead become the target of mounting criticism, with dog owners saying the redesigned space has left their pets with cut and bloody paws.
Several neighbors told Block Club their dogs have suffered painful paw injuries after running on the park’s new asphalt-and-gravel surface, while others say they no longer use the dog area because they believe it is unsafe. Before the renovation, the dog area was covered in pea gravel, which neighbors said provided a softer surface that was easier on dogs’ paws.
Residents have spent the past few weeks pressing the Park District for answers about why the dog run was redesigned the way it was, whether officials were aware of the reported injuries and if changes are planned to address their concerns.
A Chicago Park District spokesperson said the agency has “been made aware of patron concerns” about the dog area and has scheduled a meeting with the Dog Friendly Area Committee “to address the community’s concerns and determine the appropriate next steps in alignment with our guidelines.”
“At the Chicago Park District, the safety and well-being of our community members and visitors is our absolute highest priority,” spokesperson Irene Tostado said in a statement.
The project was designed by Park District staff and funded through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity as part of a broader park improvement project.
The previous dog area allowed the gravel to spread onto nearby sidewalks and “did not provide an accessible or durable circulation route,” Tostado said. The redesigned space was intended to improve accessibility, create a lower-maintenance surface and better manage drainage while keeping pea gravel in designated dog activity areas.
The recently renovated dog area at Hamlin Park has drawn criticism from neighbors who say its new asphalt-and-gravel design has injured dogs. Credit: Patrick Filbin/Block Club Chicago
Greg Zimmerman, a Roscoe Village resident who has used the Hamlin Park dog area with his two dogs for years, said he expected the lengthy renovation to improve the park.
Instead, the redesign left many neighbors confused by features like gravel-filled concrete cutouts that scatter rocks across the asphalt and make the space difficult to use, Zimmerman said. He said his dogs now hesitate to enter the park.
“My dogs want to go there because they’re used to going there,” Zimmerman said. “Winnie walks in, takes a look around, kind of picks up her paws gingerly and literally wants to leave.”
Harry Kroll, who lives about three blocks from Hamlin Park, 3035 N. Hoyne Ave., said he and his wife have regularly taken their 3-year-old pooch, Charlie, to the dog area since moving to the neighborhood in 2023.
After the park reopened this spring, Charlie visited a handful of times without incident before returning home one evening with torn, bleeding paw pads on all four feet.
“We noticed there was a big wet spot on the comforter on our bed,” Kroll said. “He had been licking his paws so much that it created a wet spot on the bed, and that’s when we saw that all four of his paw pads had ripped and were bleeding to some degree.”
Kroll said the couple treated the injuries at home after consulting their veterinarian. They no longer plan to use the dog park unless changes are made.
The injured paw of 3-year-old Charlie. Credit: Provided/Harry Kroll
Another Hamlin Park regular, Jesus Echezarreta, shared a similar experience in an email to Block Club. Echezarreta lives around the corner from the park and visits the dog area daily with his two dogs, including Odie, a recently rescued dog.
In June, Odie was running near the tennis court fence when she tore the paw pads on one of her back feet while making quick stops and turns on the asphalt. A veterinarian trimmed away the torn paw pads, cleaned the wounds and monitored the injury as Odie healed, according to vet documents provided to Block Club.
“The redesign is really just a mess of a dog park, and residents have complained, knowing that at a bare minimum the asphalt needed to be addressed before injuries happened,” Echezarreta wrote. “Lo and behold, here we are with dogs getting hurt.”
The recently renovated dog area at Hamlin Park has drawn criticism from neighbors who say its new asphalt-and-gravel design has injured dogs. Credit: Patrick Filbin/Block Club Chicago
Echezarreta criticized aspects of the redesign, including the use of gravel, which spreads across the park; a single-gate entrance he believes creates safety concerns; and what he described as an underused section of the dog run that was left as bare dirt.
The Hamlin Park Advisory Council, a volunteer group that raises money for and advises on improvements at the park, said in a statement that it has also heard concerns from neighbors about gravel spreading throughout the dog area and reports of paw injuries that owners believe are tied to the redesigned surface.
“We’ve shared these concerns with the Park District and have been in regular communication with Park District staff,” the council wrote in a statement to Block Club. “We’ve been told that the curb openings and drainage design were intentional and, at this time, the Park District has not indicated that design modifications are planned.”
As an advisory council, the group doesn’t have authority to redesign or maintain the dog park. But after hearing many complaints over the past few weeks, the council organized a volunteer cleanup and installed three brooms at the dog area so visitors can sweep loose gravel back into designated areas between maintenance visits in a bid to protect dogs.
“We view these as temporary measures intended to improve conditions while we continue advocating for long-term solutions,” the council wrote.
Volunteers with the Hamlin Park Advisory Council installed brooms inside the renovated Hamlin Park dog area as a temporary measure to address gravel spreading across the park. Credit: Patrick Filbin/Block Club Chicago
Emails reviewed by Block Club show at least one Hamlin Park neighbor alerted the Park District in May about safety concerns with the redesigned dog area after the resident’s dog injured its paw while playing there.
The resident warned that loose gravel scattered across the asphalt caused dogs to skid when stopping. The resident said they did not receive a response.
After the issue was discussed at a July 21 Hamlin Park Advisory Council meeting, the same resident again contacted the Park District, saying the concerns remained unresolved and that another dog had suffered deep lacerations despite volunteers placing brooms at the park to sweep gravel back into designated areas.
As of this week, no response had been received to either email, the resident said.
Rossi, a 7-year-old Australian shepherd, relaxes in the gravel at Hamlin Park’s recently renovated dog area Thursday afternoon. Credit: Patrick Filbin/Block Club Chicago
For Zimmerman, the frustration goes beyond the design.
“They had a great opportunity to make something that wasn’t great better, and instead they made it worse and almost unusable,” he said. “Everyone seems to be in agreement that this was just a huge boondoggle.”
Kroll said he hopes sharing his pup’s story will prevent other dogs from suffering similar injuries and prompt the Park District to revisit the project.
“I do just worry about the dog owners and the dogs in the community who don’t know this is happening,” Kroll said.
Until something changes, he said, Charlie won’t be returning.
“We won’t be taking him back there unless something changes,” Kroll said. “Which is very sad because we love it there.”
The recently renovated dog area at Hamlin Park has drawn criticism from neighbors who say its new asphalt-and-gravel design has injured dogs. Credit: Patrick Filbin/Block Club Chicago