Dog Park Construction Has Start Date

Construction on the much anticipated dog park at Pantera Park will begin in a week and should be completed before the end of August, according to city officials.

Constructions crews will roll in July 16 onto the southeast area 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.

The park will also have American with Disabilities Act accessible drinking fountain with pet bowl, hose bibs for additional water access, trash receptacles, park benches, ADA accessible walkway leading to trail and doggie walk waste bags.

Instead of grass or dirt, city staffers elected to use finely shredded mulch.

“The mulch was actually the best choice,” said Gabriela De La Cruz, Public Information Coordinator for the City of Diamond Bar. “If we had just gone with grass, we would have had to shut down the park at various times throughout the year for maintenance because we’d have to re-sod it. If we used plain dirt, which was another option, it would get muddy and you’d have all these other issues.”

Plans for the park has run into a few hurdles. The biggest was the increase in the cost.

The ADA-compliant sidewalk, originally estimated to cost roughly $28,000, increased to more than $43,000. Officials realized they could not lower the slope by much because drainage pipes were located below, Bob Rose, Community Services Director, said during a recent meeting.

As a result, the sidewalk will require handrails that people can use on the steeper slope, 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.