Pet Parents Pleased at Park

Photo provided by Cheryl DAVIS
CVTC President Cheryl Davis, second from left, has been waiting for a dog park for years and is pleased with how soon it is due to be completed. Construction is supposed to start in August with completion estimated for March 2012.

By Brandon HENSLEY

A cheer rose up from Crescenta Valley residents at the CV Town Council meeting June 9 when the timetable for the construction of the CV dog park was announced.

Inside the La Crescenta Library community room, Susan Pearson from the L.A. County Parks and Recreation Dept. of Planning was there to give the audience the main news of the night.

“There will be a dog park in Crescenta Valley,” she said, followed by applause from those in attendance.

Pearson said construction will begin in August and will be completed by March of next year.

The dog park has been long-awaited by residents, and although it has been known for several months of its inevitable construction, getting word from a L.A. County representative came as a relief nonetheless.

What will happen this summer is that an L.A. County board is expected to approve the construction at its meeting July 19. Then drawings will be submitted to Flood Control.

“We don’t anticipate any problems with that,” assured Pearson.

The site will be in Crescenta Valley Park at the north end past the parking lot of the community center on Honolulu Boulevard and Dunsmore Avenue, and will be about an acre in size.

On Tuesday night, Town Council President Cheryl Davis said she was excited for construction to begin.

“I actually ran for Town Council trying to get a dog park,” she said of her platform back in 2007. Four years may seem like a long time to residents here, but Davis said she knew of a dog park in Pasadena that took 12 years to get built.

“People think that’s it’s been moving too slowly but it’s actually moved very quickly considering this will be the first dog park ever owned and operated by the county of Los Angeles,” Davis said. “You think how large the county is, this is very exciting.”

Davis has been a dog owner for several years now and marveled at the importance animals can have in a person’s life.

“It’s amazing how much a dog can change your life,” she said.

Other business at the meeting included a report from California Highway Patrol officer Ming-Yang hsu that since Angeles Crest Highway opened in the beginning of June there had been two accidents, both non-serious. There was a fatality reported on Friday concerning a 48-year-old man who died while driving on the highway.

“People are driving up there like it’s their backyard,” said hsu, who reminded the audience to drive safely while on the highway.

Dennis Erdman, general manager for the Crescenta Valley Water District, spoke briefly on a budget workshop meeting that will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the district’s office. Erdman said there is talk of rate increases for specific customers. The meeting will be open to the public.