Longboat's Bayfront dog park reopens after artificial turf installation

Tails are wagging again at Longboat Key's Bayfront Park. 

The newly artificially turfed large dog enclosure reopened Thursday, Oct.13 after Hurricane Ian forced the date to be pushed back as the town shifted efforts to prioritizing preparing for and recovering from the storm. 

“I think it’s fantastic,” dog owner Julia Woodward said Thursday. “It’s great that they left some natural grass in the back area.”

Thursday was the first time at the park since leaving town in the spring for Woodward and her two dogs, Bella and Briggs. The dogs are frequent visitors of the park with Woodward typically taking them twice daily, in the morning and late afternoon. 

“We kept driving by looking to see if it had opened yet,” Woodward said. 

The two-park area split between large and small dogs closed in late August and was originally slated to open back up to dogs and their owners on Sept. 23. 

The turf installation comes after a donation from Longboat Key resident Irene Hess totaling about $123,000. 

The Longboat Key Town Commission accepted the donation from Hess and the Paul Klingenstein Family Foundation through the town’s Rotary Club Charitable fund. 

Hess is a frequent visitor of the dog park with her dog, Georgie Girl. Klingenstein, Hess’ father, was a Longboat Key resident before he died, a found of Temple Beth Israel and a generous philanthropist. 

The donation paid for the removal of faltering sod on three-quarters of the park’s large dog enclosure. The remaining quarter has been kept natural. 

The turf material used, approved for dog park use by state and national parks-industry trade groups, is permeable and often installed in conjunction with an irrigation system to wash it down periodically. Both the large and small dog enclosures at Bayfront Park are already equipped with such a watering system. 

The update to the large dog side of the park came after continued complaints from dog owners were brought to the town. Complaints centered on the sod causing dirty paws and coats. Resodding was completed in the summer of 2021, but was needed again following a busy season in winter 2021. The project typically cost the town around $6,250 each time it was needed. 

“They used to get really dirty and muddy, especially in the winter,” Woodward said. 

While the small dog park did not have the same turf installed, the enclosure closed with the large dog side for general maintenance.