A legitimate place to run
Clear signs, posted rules, and a designated area give dogs and their people a place where off-leash time is welcome and expected.
SE 21st & Clatsop, Portland
Give neighborhood dogs a place to run.
Picture a walkable, cared-for place where neighborhood dogs can run and neighbors keep showing up. Help make that place part of Johnson Creek Park.
112
neighbors signed
500
first campaign goal
Name and address required
Proposed area
A signed, carefully sited place for off-leash play
A practical park project
A legitimate off-leash area, close to home.
Dog owners need a place they can reach on an ordinary walk. This site can provide it while bringing regular activity, familiar faces, and community care to a secluded part of Johnson Creek Park.
Close enough for every day
A neighborhood dog area should fit into an ordinary walk, including for older residents and anyone who cannot make a longer trip to the riverfront.
A safer neighborhood park
Dog owners come morning and evening, on weekdays and weekends. That steady presence makes this secluded area less isolated and gives more neighbors a chance to notice and report problems.
The proposed park area
The clearing from its entrance path, framed by existing split-rail fencing, with Johnson Creek along the tree line.
The current alternative
A more active park
Regular use gives this corner more eyes and more care.
The campaign's organizer, Ran Magen, lives one block away and has seen unauthorized camping and suspected drug activity in the tucked-away area shown on this page. Routine visits make a place less isolated and give neighbors more chances to notice damage, request help, and report urgent problems.
August 20, 2026
Police responded to a targeted shooting at Johnson Creek Park.
A man was hospitalized after the shooting and was expected to recover. Portland Police told KPTV that the incident appeared targeted, with an apparent relationship between the victim and the suspect or suspects. Police said there was no reason to believe a passerby had been randomly attacked.
This incident does not show that the park's layout caused the shooting. It gives the city another reason to examine how visibility, access, regular activity, and ongoing care can improve this secluded area.
Read the KPTV reportThe evidence
Evidence for an active, maintained park.
Portland looks for positive activity
Portland's Safe Blocks program evaluates visibility, access, clear boundaries, positive activity, and maintenance when it assesses a place for safety. A city review of this proposal should apply those same conditions to the site.
Portland Safe BlocksMaintained public space has measurable effects
A citywide randomized trial assigned 541 Philadelphia vacant lots to greening, cleaning, or no intervention. Around the fully restored lots, police-reported crime was 4.2% lower and gun assaults were 2.7% lower than around untreated lots. Nearby residents reported a 75.7% increase in outdoor relaxing and socializing.
The study tested restored vacant land, not dog parks. Its findings support maintenance and active use; they are not a forecast for Johnson Creek Park.
Read the randomized trialOrdinary visitors are natural guardians
A U.S. Justice Department guide to crime and disorder in urban parks explains that regular visitors add informal observation and can alert park staff or police when needed. It recommends tracking both reported problems and legitimate park use when judging whether a safety effort works.
Read the Justice Department guideRegular visitors can help. The final plan still needs good visibility, clear entry points, park-ranger support, maintenance, and consistent community follow-through.
A gap in the daily walk
Put a legal dog area within an everyday walk.
Sellwood Riverfront Park has a valued off-leash area during posted hours. For people living near Johnson Creek, it can be too far for an everyday walk, especially for older residents or anyone with limited mobility. Its riverfront setting can also be muddy and cold during wet weather.
Johnson Creek Park would put a legitimate option into the route many neighbors already walk each day.
Evidence of demand
Dog owners have been making do at Sellwood Middle School.
For roughly a decade, neighbors have used the school field as an unofficial off-leash area. The practice has continued because nearby demand is real. Most owners are conscientious, and the field works well enough when it is available.
It still has limits. Streets border the field on three sides, school and youth sports properly take priority, and the size of the field makes it possible for an owner to miss waste. When games or practices are underway, dog owners need somewhere else to go.
The proposed site is about a five-minute walk from the east side of the school field. A nearby, sanctioned area gives people a natural place to migrate and a reliable alternative when the field is in use.
Area proposed for study
The proposal
Use the entrances already here for a signed off-leash area.
Portland already operates fenced and unfenced dog off-leash areas, and current city rules recognize areas that are either signed or fenced. This site has only two approaches: the existing bridge from the park and a gravel path from the north. The Crystal Springs fence would stay exactly where it is.
- An unfenced designation using the bridge and north gravel path as entry points
- Clear signs, posted rules and hours, and boundary markers
- A waste station and a local steward group committed to regular cleanup
A low-build proposal
The requested physical work is limited to signs, boundary markers, a waste station, and any minor entrance improvements identified during review. A perimeter fence and double-gated entry are not part of this request.
Who is driving this petition
I'm Ran Magen. This is the park my family uses every day.
My kids play here. I walk through Johnson Creek Park several times a day with my dog on a leash. I keep meeting neighbors doing the same, with no legal place in this park for our dogs to run together. The open ground could give those dogs room to play and give their people a reason to keep showing up.
I have also watched the secluded area become a place for unauthorized camping and suspected drug activity. I don't want the park to drift into neglect while the neighborhood walks around it.
Police described the August 20 shooting as targeted. It happened at 11:27 in the morning in the park my family uses. That shooting was the last straw. I started this petition because a managed dog area can bring regular use, care, and more neighbors looking out for the park.
I put my name here because you should know who is asking for your name and address. If you have questions, disagree with part of the proposal, or want to help, email me.
The petition
Ask Portland to study and designate the site.
Petition statement
I ask Portland Parks & Recreation and city leaders to evaluate and designate the open area shown above as a managed, signed, unfenced dog off-leash area. The designation should use the two existing access points, keep the Crystal Springs fence in place, post clear rules and hours, add waste facilities, and include a plan for community stewardship.
Addresses are stored privately
Community goal
112of 500 signatures
Common questions
Questions from neighbors.
The proposal still needs a site study and city review. The campaign is gathering enough local support to start that work in earnest.
Can more park use really improve safety?
Regular use is one part of a safer public space. Portland's own safety assessments consider visibility, positive activity, clear boundaries, and maintenance together. A managed dog area would support those conditions, alongside park rangers, outreach, and police response.
Is Crystal Springs Creek part of the proposed dog area?
No. The area along Crystal Springs Creek is already fenced and would remain outside the dog area. The petition does not prescribe a new setback from the open Johnson Creek bank. Portland would determine the final site markers and water-access rules during review.
Why isn't Sellwood Riverfront Park enough?
Sellwood Riverfront is a valued, city-approved off-leash area during posted hours. It is also farther from homes near Sellwood Middle School and Johnson Creek, can be muddy and cold in wet weather, and is not an easy daily walk for everyone. The neighborhood can support more than one practical option.
Why collect a residential address?
Names alone do not show whether support comes from local residents. An address lets organizers document neighborhood and Portland support when the petition is presented. Street addresses stay off the public website.
Does signing make this an official city petition?
This is a community petition organized by local supporters. The signatures will support a formal request to Portland Parks & Recreation and city leaders. It is separate from voter registration and election petitions.
What would the off-leash area include?
The proposal is an unfenced, signed off-leash area. The site has two existing approaches: the bridge from the park and a gravel path from the north. Signs, boundary markers, posted rules and hours, a waste station, and community stewardship are the core request.
One minute can move this proposal forward.
Add a verifiable signature and ask a neighbor to join you.