We use cookies to ensure our site functions properly and to store limited information about your usage. You may give or withdraw consent at any time. To find out more, read our privacy policy and cookie policy.
Manage Cookies
A cookie is information stored on your computer by a website you visit. Cookies often store your settings for a website, such as your preferred language or location. This allows the site to present you with information customized to fit your needs. As per the GDPR law, companies need to get your explicit approval to collect your data. Some of these cookies are ‘strictly necessary’ to provide the basic functions of the website and can not be turned off, while others if present, have the option of being turned off. Learn more about our Privacy and Cookie policies. These can be managed also from our cookie policy page.
Strictly necessary cookies(always on):
Necessary for enabling core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies. This cannot be turned off. e.g. Sign in, Language
Analytics cookies:
Analytical cookies help us to analyse user behaviour, mainly to see if the users are able to find and act on things that they are looking for. They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. Tools used: Google Analytics
Share Runway Dog Park on FacebookShare Runway Dog Park on TwitterShare Runway Dog Park on LinkedinEmail Runway Dog Park link
Runway Dog Park in Oak Creek has been used as an off-leash dog park for the past 15 years, however, although the dog park has been managed by Milwaukee County Parks, the land is owned by Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, which means it is under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversight.
As part of a recent review of a new Mitchell International Airport master plan, the FAA determined that all airport-owned land must only be used for aviation-related activities. As a dog park is not a qualifying activity according to the FAA, continued use of the dog park would jeopardize federal funding for the airport. The dog park, therefore, will be closed indefinitely on November 1, 2022.
We understand how frustrating it is to lose a much-loved amenity, so we have included funding in the 2023 parks budget for a study to look at our parkland in the county, to identify any other sites that could be a suitable replacement for Runway Dog Park.
A public input mapping tool was available and collected ideas for future dog parks from August 3rd until February 1st. The results can be found below:
Update (January 2025)
Parks applied for capital funds for a dog park design in the 2024 and 2025 Capital Budget processes but did not receive funding due to other pressing needs. Parks will reapply for this funding. As with any project, the more voices a County Supervisor hears the more likely they are to advocate for a project to get funded.
Runway Dog Park in Oak Creek has been used as an off-leash dog park for the past 15 years, however, although the dog park has been managed by Milwaukee County Parks, the land is owned by Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, which means it is under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversight.
As part of a recent review of a new Mitchell International Airport master plan, the FAA determined that all airport-owned land must only be used for aviation-related activities. As a dog park is not a qualifying activity according to the FAA, continued use of the dog park would jeopardize federal funding for the airport. The dog park, therefore, will be closed indefinitely on November 1, 2022.
We understand how frustrating it is to lose a much-loved amenity, so we have included funding in the 2023 parks budget for a study to look at our parkland in the county, to identify any other sites that could be a suitable replacement for Runway Dog Park.
A public input mapping tool was available and collected ideas for future dog parks from August 3rd until February 1st. The results can be found below:
Update (January 2025)
Parks applied for capital funds for a dog park design in the 2024 and 2025 Capital Budget processes but did not receive funding due to other pressing needs. Parks will reapply for this funding. As with any project, the more voices a County Supervisor hears the more likely they are to advocate for a project to get funded.
