By KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — New shade shelters, more benches and an increase in trees are on the horizon to help make the community-wide dog park even better.
Stuart Schlossman, chair of the Dog Park Committee, along with Middlesex County Freeholder Charles Tomaro, addressed the park that opened on June 29 at a Metuchen Council meeting on Aug. 15.
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.
Schlossman said the feedback that they have been receiving about the park has been terrific.
“I see 20 to 25 dogs in the morning and afternoon, but not any in the middle of the day because it has been 100 degrees lately,” he said.
Schlossman and Tomaro said they have been working on suggested improvements from the public, such as providing shade. New shade shelters were added last week, and funds from the Edison Township Tree Fund will be used to put more trees around the park, adding more shade.
Tomaro said they have increased dog-waste bag dispensers and are planning on adding more benches.
He said there has been an issue with drainage from rainwater running from the parking lot into the small dog park that they are currently addressing.
Tomaro said there are also designs in the works for a playground for children near the dog park.
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.
From 1958 to 1970, the dog park 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. It also 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 are sharing dog park maintenance duties, including monitoring its use, mowing, pruning and trash collection.