Changes intended to strengthen the county’s dangerous and vicious dog law were recommended Wednesday to Douglas County commissioners.

A new condition for finding a dog to be dangerous should be a “two bite” definition, said Midge Grinstead, executive director of the Lawrence Humane Society.

If a dog bites and injures someone twice without cause, then it should be considered dangerous, she said. Grinstead told about a Labrador retriever that had bitten a jogger and a bicyclist without cause within a two-week period. Yet after each time the dog passed temperament tests, she said. There was no provision to declare it dangerous, Grinstead said.

“I think it will bite again,” she said.

The owner of a dog declared dangerous would have to meet certain requirements that could include keeping the dog in a kennel.

Grinstead also said Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson said there was a problem with the vicious dog law that makes it difficult to bring someone to court.

Grinstead said she was unsure what the problem was and recommended that County Counselor Evan Ice meet with Branson to find out how to solve the problem. A vicious dog is one that has been trained to fight or is used to fight.

Commissioners said they would act on Grinstead’s recommendations.

The county adopted a vicious dog law in 2003. The law is not breed specific. Instead, it outlines certain conditions under which a dog can be declared vicious.

Several cities have adopted vicious dog ordinances that were modeled after Douglas County’s, including Charleston, S.C., and Seattle, Grinstead said.

In other business, commissioners discussed Transportation 2030, a federally mandated plan that spells out Lawrence and Douglas County transportation needs. The highlights of the detailed study were presented by James E. Tobaben, a transportation planner and engineer with Parsons Brinkerhoff Quade & Douglas Inc. of Lenexa.

A draft of the plan appears on the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Department Web site, www.ci.lawrence.ks.us/planning/. Public comments about the plan have been accepted for the past month. Friday is the last day for turning in comments. There is an e-mail link for sending in comments on the Web site.

Commissioners also approved a resolution that pledges the county’s portion of county sales tax revenues to the payment of certain redevelopment costs within the 12th Street and Oread Avenue Redevelopment District created by the city of Lawrence.