APEX — The town’s much-anticipated dog park is set to open Monday.

But before dog lovers bring their pooches to the off-leash play area at Hunter Street Park on Ambergate Station Road, they must register their pets with the town. Registration begins at 8 a.m. Monday at the Apex Community Center.

Many residents have been anxious for the two-acre dog park to open, said Apex Parks and Recreation Director John Brown. It’s been the most talked-about town project, he said, and residents have been asking for a dog park for years.

“People want a place to exercise their dogs,” Brown said, adding that many people who live in apartments or townhome communities have limited options. “I think the days of having three or four acres in the country are over.”

The annual fee to use the dog park is $30 for Apex residents and $60 for those who live elsewhere.

The registration fees will help cover the costs to maintain the $110,000 park, Brown said. The fenced-in area, which features separate play spaces for large and small dogs, has benches, pet-waste stations, shelter and water for the canines.

Dog-park users will get an electronic access card to use the park. For now, Brown said, the town isn’t putting a limit on how many people can sign up. But he’s expecting a crowd.

“I think we’re going to have quite a few people register, based on the interest in it,” Brown said.

Here’s some more good news for Rover: A second dog park in Apex is expected to open by the end of 2013 at the Apex Nature Park on Apex Barbecue Road.

Nagem: 919-460-2605