Construction of new dog run under way

The Department of Public Works broke ground last month on Long Beach’s new dog run, which will provide a space exclusively for the city’s many dog owners and their canines.

The fenced area is being built at Magnolia Boulevard on the site of the old skate park. A new $300,000 skate park was built closer to the Long Beach Recreation Center, along Reynolds Channel, and opened in September, leaving the land available for other uses.

“We heard it loud and clear when we made the decision to rebuild the skate park and relocate it,” DPW Commissioner Jim LaCarrubba said. “It was always our intent to repurpose that property for a larger dog [run].”

The area is expected to open by Memorial Day, and will feature separate spots for large and small dogs, sitting areas, a water fountain and two old fire hydrants, said LaCarrubba. There will also be small areas where owners can unleash their dogs before entering the larger areas for the animals to play, he added.

Total cost of the project is not yet known, but the city said it would fund most, if not all of the project, “in house,” using money available in Long Beach’s capital fund that is allocated for improving recreational facilities, LaCarrubba said. He added that the dog area is something residents had been calling for.

“It has been a longstanding issue,” he said. “We have a lot of dog owners in Long Beach who have been looking for a larger area to be able to let our dogs recreate. We are a city and very densely packed. Nobody has a big expansive yard to let their animals run around, and there really aren’t a lot of places for that kind of activity.”