Our mission is to establish and maintain off-leash dog exercise areas in Milwaukee County, through community and municipal partnerships, where dogs can exercise in safe, clean environments viewed as valuable assets within the community.
Residents for Off-leash Parks (ROMP) was founded in 2002 by a group of Milwaukee area dog owners looking for green space where their dogs could run free and play safe. The group saw a need for additional dog parks in Milwaukee County. Many dog owners where driving outside of the county to use dog parks or didn’t find the location of the county’s only existing dog park, known as Granville, located on the border or Milwaukee and Menomonee Falls, convenient.
ROMP developed a strong partnership with the Milwaukee County Parks System which resulted in the opening of the Runway Dog Exercise Area, a 26 acre fenced-in dog exercise area, in Oak Creek near the airport in 2005. The Runway quickly became one of the county’s most visited parks. Through the creation of a fee-based permit system for dog park uses, in a short time, the Runway is paying for itself and generating revenue for the county.
In 2008, ROMP and the Milwaukee County Parks System campaigned for funds to create additional dog parks which resulted in the opening of two more dog parks in 2009. Small dog exercise areas were placed within two existing county parks – Estabrook and Currie.
In 2010, ROMP and the parks system hope to open two more dog parks. Details on these plans are still in progress but with each additional dog exercise area, we are closer to our vision of having a system of off-leash dog parks in Milwaukee County.
