The Lake County Forest Preserves is asking residents for feedback on a planned $1.7 million, 40-acre off-leash dog park in the Waukegan Savanna Forest Preserve.
The planned canine exercise area will be the fifth dog park under the agency’s jurisdiction. The other four are in Libertyville, Lake Forest, Lindenhurst and Wauconda.
“We have four existing dog parks, and we try to spread special facilities like this geographically around the county, so all members of the county have access to these sorts of things,” said Ann B. Maine, the president of the Lake County Forest Preserves Board of Commissioners.
“Originally, our plan with these dog parks was to have one in each of the four corners of the county,” said Randy Seebach, the director of planning, conservation and development for the agency.
Though four now exist, Seebach said there is no dog park in northeastern Lake County. Plans for the park have been in the works since the agency finalized its Waukegan Savanna Master Conceptual Plan in 2010, he said.
Area residents “are really excited and they can’t wait to see it,” Seebach added.
The design will be finalized after a six-week public input phase, he said. Lake County residents are welcome to share ideas for the park and complete a short survey at the Lake County Forest Preserves Idea Exchange (http://www.ideaexchangelcfpd.org/see-spot-run) through Sept. 22.
“The idea exchange is a new thing,” Maine said. “We are always looking for different ways to reach out. We’ve got Flickr, blogs and a lot of different social media. It’s important to reach people where they are. And some people will come to a public hearing, but that’s not how somebody else conveys their ideas.”
Seebach said the agency plans to “make sure we accommodate as much of these comments we receive as possible.”
Plans for the park include a gravel loop trail, mowed-grass trails, a separate area for smaller dogs, an 80-car parking lot, toilets and drinking water for humans and canines.
Construction of the park will be funded through a combination of bond funds, tax levy funds and general funds, Seebach said.
The planned park differs from previous dog exercise areas in that the original design includes a gravel trail — an effort to make the park more accessible for individuals in wheelchairs.
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“We’re about making our facilities open to people of all abilities and ages,” Seebach said. He added that the agency’s commissioners recently approved funding to install gravel trails in all existing dog parks.
In addition to the fenced-in dog park, a regional trail connection through the Waukegan Savanna Forest Preserve to the Robert McClury Trail and Des Plaines River Trail is planned, Seebach said. The project also aims to connect the Waukegan Savanna Forest Preserve with the Lyons Woods Forest Preserve, he said.
The entrance to the new dog park will be located at the northeast corner of Yorkhouse and Delany roads in Waukegan, according to the drafted version of the plans.
Despite the high popularity of the four existing dog parks, John Tannahill, the chief of the forest preserves police, said fights between dogs are relatively rare.
“One of the requirements is that the owners have to maintain control of their dogs within a certain area…if they can’t control them, they need to keep them on a leash,” he said.
“We have very few problems,” Maine said. “One of the (reasons) is that the people who are there very much police themselves.”
Maine said the fee to use the new park will be consistent with what is charged at the four other dog parks. She said visitors have the option to purchase an annual or daily permit, and Lake County residents are charged a lower fee than non-residents.
Construction of the park is expected to begin next summer and should be completed by late fall of the following year.
To the residents eager to see the new dog park become a reality, Seebach said he tells them, “It’s just around the corner.”