The dog park is expected to be open by Thanksgiving weekend and supporters hope it will attract more visitors to the city's largest public park.

"The more the park is used, the better it'll be," said Dale Risden, a member of the Joaquin Miller Park working group and leader of JMPDog, representing dog owners in the area.

He and other members of the working group assessed park and community needs and found a strong demand for a dog park.

"It's not only great for dogs, but great for the community," he said. "You'll meet neighbors you've never met before."

Risden, who has lived across from the park since 1960, called Joaquin Miller Park the gateway to the East Bay Regional Parks system with Redwood and Anthony Chabot Regional parks at its backyard.

The park would become the third off-leash area for dogs in Oakland. A 24,000-square-foot park by Lakeview library near Lake Merritt is in its final planning stages. Hardy Park in the Temescal area is the only current operational city dog park. Dogs in Oakland are required to be on-leash while in public.

The one-acre Joaquin Miller dog park is carved from two of six parking lots at the Woodminster Amphitheater, an outdoor performance venue at Joaquin Miller Park. The lots are primarily used for overflow parking. The park is a year-long pilot program to see how a dog park could be developed alongside another public venue.

Sue Piper from Vice Mayor Jean Quan's office said the dog park's test for success would be how it fares after a summer of activities at Woodminster.

The park will be open daily from dawn to dusk except for about 30 days during next summer and weekends of Woodminster musicals and other events. Closure dates would be posted on-site in advance or on a public Joaquin Miller Park Web site planned to launch in January.

Last week, construction crews were busy digging trenches and preparing the lots. Parking lot No. 5 will be used for large dogs. Parking lot No. 4 will be for small dogs. The dog park is about a half-mile into Joaquin Miller Park on Joaquin Miller Road at Sanborn Drive.

New fencing is expected to installed next week. Once signs and dog park guidelines are installed, the park will be officially open. There will be potable water at the site.

The dog park costs about $30,000, paid by Quan and Councilman Henry Chang Jr.'s office. Quan's office also purchased three benches for the dog park.

Risden hopes senior residents would also use the dog park.

"They can sit, have conversations and let their dogs run," he said.

Lyle Oehler of the Public Works Department said dog owners and dog park users are responsible for its daily maintenance, similar to guidelines at Hardy Park and Lakeview dog parks.

Piper said other projects include a walking trail at Shepherd Canyon Park, expansion of its parking lot and restoration of Shepherd Creek.

The opening of the dog park coincides with the closure of the Serpentine Prairie trail, a popular off-leash area, along Redwood Road for re-vegetation, said Piper. It is owned and operated by the East Bay Regional Parks Department, which allows dogs to be off-leash in its parks.

"Our hope is we'll have less dogs off-leash walking on trails," said Risden, "It's a venue to get our dogs out."

Anyone interested in joining JMPDog is invited to visit Web site www.odogparks.org.