A map of the future Roy Furr Pioneer Park. Photo by Caleb Kostencki.
By Caleb Kostencki
NORTH OVERTON – Ramirez Elementary School and the apartment communities off Mac Davis Lane are welcoming change with new renovations coming to Roy Furr Pioneer Park, located at 6th Street and Avenue T.
When completed, the park’s renovations will include a dog park, sand volleyball pit and a fitness court as well as new irrigation and landscaping within the park, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The estimated cost of the park improvements is roughly $1.8 million, according to TDLR data.
Melissa Hernandez, principal of Ramirez Elementary School, said the construction has stifled the community of parents and children that would gather around the park after school.
“In the afternoons, our families would go outside and gather around the park. They haven’t been able to do that anymore,” Hernandez said. “They are waiting for the construction to end because they want to be able to return to having some play time with the students and continue that community that they use to have.”
A construction vehicle sits outside of the school where parents used to gather. Photo by Caleb Kostencki.
Hernandez said they have opened up their playground after school for 30 minutes to allow for the families’ recreational time to continue while the improvements to Pioneer Park are underway.
“Before the dog run was built, they had a small play area and we were able to look at the plan and look at it very carefully and one of the things we noticed was [that] there was no seating for parents,” Hernandez said. “One of our parents looked at it and said ‘Hey, why do we not have a place to sit down while our children are playing?’ And so, the developers were able to include some benches for them as well.”
Hernandez said that early on she had to deal with much back-and-forth with the City of Lubbock regarding the construction of the dog park.
“We went to the board meeting when [the dog park] was approved – when the actual park changes were made,” Hernandez said. “We just asked a lot of questions but the involvement really came on at the onset because we wanted to make sure that they had really looked at the study and looked at what does the dog barking sound do and how is that going to impact the school.”
Hernandez said many parents participated in the meeting and asked questions specifically about the dog park’s construction and its effects on the school’s learning environment and the students’ safety.
“[Parents are] just making sure that the dog noise doesn’t escalate to a matter where it begins to impact the student learning,” Hernandez said.
A side view of the future dog park’s location. Photo by Caleb Kostencki.
Savannah Scheffler, a Texas Tech student who lives near Ramirez Elementary, said she currently takes her dog to the McAlistar dog park, which is 12 minutes away from her place, and thinks that the new dog park will be more accessible.
“I think it will be more convenient because I can walk to it, and I feel like it’s going to be a good place that I can [use to train] my dog,” Scheffler said.
Moreover, Scheffler said she thinks the addition of the dog park will make the apartment complexes in that area more appealing to students with dogs looking for housing.
“We do have some nice amenities like the pool and the workout area, but I think it will make it more appealing for people with dogs to come live over here,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler said she could see the dog park being an issue for some parents of the school because it will cause more college students to be around the elementary school.
“I know my dog is good with kids,” Scheffler said. “But I feel like for some parents it might be a negative because that means there [are] going to be more college students over there.”
Additionally, Scheffler hopes the construction-induced headaches will someday be worthwhile.
“I want to hope in the long run it is going to be good, but there are definitely some logistics that need to be worked out,” Scheffler said. “But in the long run, I think it will be a good addition and I think it will make it more appealing and hopefully much safer.”
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