By KATHY CHANG
METUCHEN — The long-awaited community-wide dog park will officially open June 29.
Dignitaries and others will gather tomorrow at 7 p.m. to dedicate the park.
Working together, Edison and Metuchen officials turned a long-vacant 4.3-acre Whitman Avenue property in Edison that borders Metuchen into a groomed dog park for pets and owners from both communities.
The development of the park came to fruition through the initiative and persistence of Girl Scouts Abigail “Abby” Brooks and Lilith “Lily” Rebecca Hoover, who presented their idea as part of their Girl Scout Silver project in 2013.
The idea grew with public support around it.
From 1958 to 1970, the Whitman Avenue site was owned by Chemical Insecticide Corporation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency completed a $53 million cleanup in 2005, removing 250,000 cubic tons of soil and restoring the site to residential safety standards.
Edison bought it in 2008 for $1 million with money from the township’s Open Space Trust Fund and a state Green Acres grant.
Now, with county financial assistance, funds from Edison and Metuchen and private contributions, the dog park has been graded, landscaped and fenced. The park has benches, water fountains, trash receptacles, walking paths and a paved parking area.
Playground equipment for dogs is also on the horizon with help from Petco and contributions from other area businesses, township officials said.
Edison and Metuchen will share dog park maintenance duties, including monitoring its use, mowing, pruning and trash collection.