Almaden Resident

News

City set to replace worn surface at Fontana dog park

By Eli Segall

Almaden Valley dogs may soon have a new and improved play area at Jeffrey Fontana Dog Park, which the city has slated for resurfacing.

In recent months, the city has received numerous complaints about the condition of the park's turf, which has deteriorated from excessive use, said Eric Crane, communications aide to Councilwoman Nancy Pyle.

The .75-acre park, located on Golden Oak Way between Meridian Avenue and McAbee Road, opened in September 2005. It offers an off-leash play area, benches for dog owners and a variety of pet-friendly amenities.

As its popularity has grown, the park's natural grass has been reduced to dirt and isolated green clumps, leading to calls for action from the community.

During a meeting at the Almaden Winery Community Center Nov. 20 to discuss possible resurfacing options to upgrade the beat-up turf, some residents suggested putting money toward a new dog park.

Cathy Randazzo, a local resident and member of the park's design committee, said the dog park was built with only nearby residents in mind.

"This place has now turned into Grand Central Station," Randazzo said.

At the meeting, representatives from the San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services and Pyle's office presented ideas for a short-term resurfacing option, which would last for the next three to five months, as well as a permanent, long-term plan.

Parks officials said the temporary surface would provide an opportunity to experiment with options that might prove more durable than natural grass.

City officials at the meeting said construction would start "as soon as possible," though no specific date was given.

Art Rosales, a parks department manager, presented an array of alternative surfacing choices to the packed community center, including dirt, sand, bark and artificial turf. He also highlighted other dog parks throughout the city and Santa Clara County, noting their surfaces and overall designs.

Rosales, though he recommended finely crushed granite--the same material found on baseball diamonds--for a long-term project, referenced on several occasions a Foster City dog park that uses artificial turf, and said this is the model for future San Jose dog parks. That park uses artificial turf on 65 to 70 perfect of its grounds, and other surfaces such as bark and concrete for the rest.

Community members were quick to point out the problems of artificial turf, noting its high cost and questionable side effects.

Artificial turf, used on a number of local high school athletic fields, is often built flat with more than a foot of drain rock below it to absorb rain, which it does, albeit slowly. This could prove problematic with other liquids.

"We're scared to death that the turf will soak up the dogs' urine and feces and stink up the neighborhood," said Robert Braunstein, who lives across the street from the park.

Two other forum participants said they heard rumors of a putrid smell emanating from the Foster City park.

Simeon Mercado, a city parks manager, said artificial turf costs $15 per square foot, more than three times the price of crushed granite, the second most expensive option presented.

To outfit the 15,400-square-foot dog park with artificial turf would cost $231,000, roughly two-thirds the price it cost to build the park.

"I think everyone would agree this is a total waste of money," said Herb Green, an Almaden resident. "Let's put this money to use and build another dog park to take the pressure off this one."

The forum's emcee, Suzanne Wolf of the city's office of economic development, said the city's greenprint--a parks master plan established in 2000--called for one dog park to be built in each of the 10 city council districts. Wolf helped write the greenprint and was a parks department employee at the time.

The city of San Jose currently has five dog parks in operation, and another, at Butcher Park in the Cambrian neighborhood, is slated to open next June. The city's first dog park, Watson, located on the corner of Jackson and N. 22nd streets, was closed last year due to soil contamination.

For more information, call 408.535.3570 or visit www.sanjoseca.gov/prns.