One dog park in Barrington reopened on Monday afternoon, Nov. 9, while the other was closed temporarily. 

The original dog park inside Haines Park, located near the smaller baseball and softball fields, reopened to dog owners at 2 p.m. on Monday. Meanwhile, officials have closed the Christine Conrad Lane Dog Park, which is located in Haines Park near Cove Haven Marina. The temporary closure was needed while crews remove the old chainlink fencing and replace it with new fence. 

Barrington officials confirmed the changing status of the dog parks on Monday. 

At the Nov. 2 meeting, Barrington Town Council members approved a bid to install a new permanent six-foot tall, black chainlink fence at the Christine Conrad Lane Dog Park. The bid was for $37,970 with an alternate add-on of $5,110 for a lower support rail for the chainlink fence, which will help stabilize it. United Fence and Construction submitted the low-bid. 

Doug Lane, husband of the late Christine Conrad Lane, attended the Nov. 2 meeting and spoke about the project. He said supporters raised thousands of dollars for the dog park improvement. He said the group was prepared to contribute $23,000. The town council has committed $15,000 toward the project, and the town recently secured a $5,000 grant for the work also. 

The total price of the project, including a 20 percent contingency to address any unforeseen conditions, was $51,696. Barrington Town Council President Braxton Cloutier made a motion to approve the bid. Liana Cassar seconded the motion, which passed 4-0. 

In early January, Doug Lane shared a presentation with the Barrington Town Council detailing a plan to dedicate the local dog park to his late wife — Christine, who, with their son Spencer and more than 60 other people were killed when the passenger jet they were on collided with a US Army helicopter outside a Washington DC airport on Jan. 29, 2025. 

Lane said he initially considered having the town’s initial dog park named after his late wife, but discovered that it had already been dedicated to the late resident, Kimberly Perrott, who helped found the park. Months later, Lane learned about plans to make the new temporary dog park a permanent fixture in Haines Park.