New Monroe Avenue Dog Park in the Works

A new dog park is in the works for Monroe Avenue not far from where the Simpson dog park is located.

Project planners with Alexandria’s Planning Department and Land Planning & Design Associates made a presentation about the park to the Del Ray Citizens Association last week.

The 1-acre, fenced-in park will be located on the south side of Monroe Avenue between a yet-to-be-built Dominion Virginia Power substation and a new multi-family development.

Amenities will include separate inbound and outbound gates on both sides of the park, pressure-fed water fountains, benches, deciduous trees, shrubbery and a bike rack. Planners will place temporary fencing around the trees inside the park to allow them to flourish and create shade for visitors.

The start of construction of the new park depends on when the substation—to be located just east of the old Gold Crust Bakery—begins. Construction of the dog park should take 60 to 90 days.

The dog park probably won't be open by spring of 2013 "and that is all dependent on Dominion’s plans,” said Zac Lette, of Land Planning & Design Associates.

Lette said the new park will be part of the Potomac Yard parks network, which also includes .

The new dog park is not replacing Simpson Stadium Dog Park across Monroe Avenue. At a Del Ray Citizens Association meeting last year, planners discussed reserving the new park for smaller dogs and leaving the Simpson Stadium park to larger dogs.

The separation is still a possibility, but will probably be determined at a later date.

“It’s not decided if it will be separate,” said Colleen Willger, an urban planner with the city. “We’ll let users determine the use and we’ll follow what happens before making a programming decision.”