Valley of the Moon dog park will close for about 2 months for upgrades

Starting next week, the popular Valley of the Moon dog park south of downtown Anchorage will close for about two months for a facelift that includes a bigger parking lot and better fencing, city officials say.

Valley of the Moon's parking lot will also be closed, and the city is directing people to use on-street parking. Construction crews plan to add 28 spaces to the park's existing lot during the renovation.

At the dog park, a former baseball diamond, two new sets of gates will be installed along with a new 6-foot fence and gates, said Taylor Keegan, the project manager at the city parks department.

"There's a few (gates), but it's not catered to getting swarmed by dogs," Keegan said.

New LED lights will be installed in the parking lot, as well as the two pavilions in the wider Valley of the Moon Park. Parks officials decided to illuminate the pavilions based on interest from the community, Keegan said. In the summer of 2016, two people were shot and killed late at night in the park, sparking safety concerns and demands for better lighting.

Planning for the project started in 2014, and the city pieced together the financing through voter-approved bonds. Here's an overview of the project costs:

• Dog park upgrades: $49,000

• Parking lot upgrades: $150,000

• Lighting improvements: $196,000

A recent parking study and the park's master plan both identified a need for more parking space, Keegan said.

To make way for the larger parking lot, crews will remove a few spruce trees. At the moment, Keegan said, city officials plan to use the trees as part of a stream bank restoration project along Campbell Creek.

The city plans to plant birch trees and dogwood and willow shrubs along 17th Avenue, Keegan said.

Keegan said officials hope to break ground by the middle of next week, and the project will take eight to 10 weeks to complete.