Dog Park Shut Down; County Relocation Plans Still On

The county still plans on moving forward in relocating the Saddle River County Dog Park, but with heavy damage from Hurricane Irene, the dog run will remain closed until the new site is completed, county officials say. Officials are eyeing a winter date to unveil the new bark park.

Jeanne Baratta, Chief of Staff to County Executive Kathleen Donovan, said the dog park at the top of East Ridgewood Avenue sustained considerable damage in the wake of Hurricane Irene. Water levels reached several feet, dumping layers of sediment while expanding the nearby pond into a lake during the height of the storm. The dog park fence was also demolished and will need to be replaced, officials said.

With plans to relocate just down the block, the county has effectively closed the current site until the new one is finished, Baratta said.

The county is going out to bid on September 21, officials maintain. The county should receive bids about three weeks later and have the item up on the Bergen County Freeholder's agenda in November, acting Bergen County Parks director Ron Kistner said.

"Work should start in early December," on the new site, provided all goes well, he said. Kistner could not provide a cost to the project. Previous estimates had the dog park being completed around October.

The several month wait is bad news for dog owners, who in the meantime will have to take their pooches to the other four dog parks in the county, Kistner said. (The other four remaining dog-leash runs are the Henry Hoebel area of Overpeck Park in Leonia, Sam Nelkin County Park in Wallington, the Joseph Carucci Area in Lyndhurst and the Wooddale County Park in Woodcliff Lake.)

"We will have signs up telling residents where they can go," Kistner said.

Current plans

The county has not changed plans to move the park about 70 feet east on East Ridgewood Avenue and approximately 950 feet south of the current site, county authorities confirmed. disrupting their days due to the noise.

The new site will feature a new parking lot located further inland from the flood-happy Saddle River; there will be 35 spots and two ADA-compliant handicapped spots and more than a dozen trees will have to be cut to accommodate the new parking area. The old parking lot will be removed and re-landscaped, according to plans.

There are no changes in plans to maintain two sections, one for small dogs and the other for large dogs, Kistner said. The park will be the same square footage, he said. "It will just be reoriented," he remarked.

New benches will also be placed behind the fenced area of the new site; additionally, the three bridges will be completely reconstructed.

Speed is of the essence

Ridgewood mayor Keith Killion expressed disappointment to the news of the closing late Wednesday afternoon.

"It's a shame," Killion said. "I hope they can get the park done earlier than that. Lots of people rely on the dog park as a community resource. Hopefully they can speed it up."

Kistner remarked in a phone interview that the county plans on having strong lines of communication with the village, something the previous county administration was criticized for lacking.

Ridgewood has an ordinance on the books banning dogs from its local parks.