ADA Compliance Could Prove Costly to City

An ADA-compliant sidewalk could more than double the cost of the much-awaited Pantera Dog Park, Diamond Bar officials said recently.

The dog park will be located on 1.35 acres of undeveloped land southeast of Pantera Park. Plans include two enclosures, a 19,400-square-foot area for small dogs less than 25 pounds, the other a 39,400-square-foot area for large dogs 25 pounds or larger. A 6-foot high chain link fence will surround the enclosures. Users will enter and exit through self-closing double gates.

City officials plan to use six-inches of wood fiber -- similar to wooden chips that are used for playgrounds – on the ground.

The ADA-compliant sidewalk will give access to the park, according to city documents. The cost of that sidewalk was originally estimated at roughly $28,000, said Bob Rose, Community Services Director.

But during a study of the park, officials discovered they could not reduce the level of the slope very deeply because of drainage pipes below the area where the sidewalk is planned.

“We couldn’t just dig down and put in a walk way,” Rose said. “We had to keep a distance above the drainage structures that were above.”

As a result, the sidewalk will require handrails, officials said.

“That cuts the wideness of the walkway,” Rose said. In order to get maintenance vehicles in and out of the dog park area, they will need to have an 8-foot-wide sidewalk.

“Just the handrails are about $43,000,” he said. So the estimated cost of the dog park has risen to $235,000 from the original estimate of $131,699. The increase in the cost prompted city officials to push back ADA Improvements at the Longview South mini-park.

It’s will cost $55,000 of general fund reserves to complete the funding of the dog park, Rose said.

A contractor bid to begin work at the park has come in at $96,875. City staff will present the bid to Diamond Bar’s City Council on June 5.

“Normally a contractor is able to get onto the project and start working within about 30 days after the award of contract,” Rose said. “So we expect construction to start sometime in early July. It’s a 30-day project and it should be completed by early- to mid-August.”