Dog Park Slated for Fall Opening

Construction is continuing on the dog park on Black Oak Ridge Road.

Officials hope to have the park open by mid-fall.

The project began last summer but cleanup efforts from superstorm Sandy took municipal workers away from the project for a while, said Ryan Edge, supervisor of landscape and park design for the township.

“It’s coming along,” Edge said. “Our schedule got screwed up when Sandy hit.”

The park is located on Black Oak Ridge Road at the corner of Pompton Plains Crossroads. An ore processing facility was in operation on the six-acre track of land from 1948 to 1971. The site was placed on the National Superfund Priorities List and underwent a $125 million cleanup. It was remediation to “residential standards” and removed from the list in September.

The park will have two separate fenced-in dog runs, one for small dogs and another for large dogs. There will be plastic bags and garbage cans so owners can dispose of any waste their dog leaves at the park.

A playground with multiple pieces of equipment, one for children 5 to 12 years old and another for children 5 to 2 years old, is situated next to the dog runs. Rubber mulch will be put in the playground area. There will also be a swing set and a tire swing.

Five foot-wide walkways will be installed within the next few weeks, Edge said.

A drainage system will be installed on top of the site on Lucas Lane.

Because town employees completed most of the work, officials were able to purchase more obstacles for the dog runs and extra shade structures. The area is open with no trees near the park.

The project was financed with a $99,000 grant from Passaic County Open Space Trust Fund and through a private donation.

“It’s a great project and we can’t wait to complete it so residents and their pets can enjoy it,” Edge said.

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