Bark Park is Living Up to Its Name

Dear Editor:

Since its inception, excessive barking from the Sycamore Bark Park has negatively affected the adjacent neighborhood. Residents (some are retired, some work from home) no longer enjoy the peace and quiet to which they’re entitled; it is regularly disrupted by noise from the dog park, which is open from 8am until sunset 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Town of Carmel documents and statements of Town officials reveal several mistakes in the site-selection process: 1) they “didn’t see” the houses directly across the street from the site; and 2) they were “overwhelmed” and “surprised” by the amount of dog park traffic. Obviously, they neglected “Planning 101” basics and never conducted a simple survey to get a general idea of potential usage.

Here’s the most mind-boggling, utterly inexplicable mistake: According to the Parks and Recreation Director, they “never thought about noise” when choosing a dog park location.

He deserves credit for acknowledging that. Every toddler knows the sound the doggie makes is “Woof! Woof!,” so it takes courage to admit that a group of adults never realized a dog park would involve barking and that they should plan accordingly.

Noise from a dog park is completely foreseeable. The failure to consider it when selecting a site is unconscionable and invalidates the entire enterprise, including the required environmental impact analysis. That’s not opinion; it’s common sense. It is impossible to choose an appropriate site for a dog park if you overlook the barking issue.

Attempts to control noise since the park opened, while well-intentioned, are not adequately effective; they merely highlight the unprofessional planning process, which was fatally flawed from the start.

A responsible government would go back to the drawing board and get it right. The Town Council refuses to do so. Instead, they’re actively cultivating a situation in which everybody loses: Dog park patrons are asked to be hyper-vigilant about barking, which isn’t fair to them; dog park neighbors are repeatedly disturbed by dog park noise (despite the efforts of dog park patrons), which isn’t fair to them.

If the dog park site-selection process reflects the quality of the Town Council’s standard operating procedure, all Town citizens should be nervous.

There are two kinds of elected officials: politicians and public servants. Politicians care about popularity; they focus on pleasing the most people in order to replenish their campaign coffers and get reelected. Public servants care about the integrity of their work; they focus on making decisions in a principled, informed, thoughtful manner, even if their decisions are not terribly popular.

Regarding the dog park, the Carmel Town Council is behaving like politicians; there’s still time for them to behave like public servants, if they have the courage to do so.

Elizabeth Costello Mahopac