To the editor:

Here we go again…a classic overreaction to solve an apparent problem brought on by a few bad actors whereby the rest of us law abiding and taxpaying residents are in the “doghouse,” so to speak.

Are we seriously considering banning our dogs from all “parks and fields” between the months of April and November? Someone please tell us this is a joke. 

I bit my tongue when I read that the investment of speed cameras was now being considered in town. Instead of putting up appropriate signage and removing all of the distractions that divert attention, making the speed limits more consistent, and white-knuckling our way down New Meadow Road while trying to avoid a bicyclist or three that assume they have the right of way at every intersection, and instead of imposing penalties/tickets for those drivers that cause frequent accidents, we’re going to install, maintain and manage speed cameras; that should do it.  

I want to howl at the moon every time I take a quick ride to our town beach in the summer to look at the beautiful sand and water but find that I can’t get into the parking lot let alone find an available place to park because we decided to increase our revenue by inviting everyone outside of Barrington to park at our beach.

I seriously doubt the revenue the town makes justifies the diminished access that our residents experience when they try to visit their own town beach in the summer.  

Another head-scratcher is how our parks and fields suddenly became exclusively athletic complexes. I always thought Chianese Park was a place for everyone. 

I think it’s great to see the kids in those fields playing sports. I was a kid once and played sports and ran around and played while others also enjoyed the parks with their dogs, bikes, scooters, kites, and jump ropes; we called it “living in America”. It wasn’t perfect, and still isn’t, but if banning dogs from all parks and fields fixes all of our collective problems, doggonit let’s do it!

I’ve walked our service dog at Chianese Park almost every day for the last 11 years. I walk my dog on a leash. I also pick up after my dog. I am constantly annoyed in finding that some people do not follow the same protocols. It’s disheartening to know that kids are playing in those fields while some people don’t have the courtesy to pick up after their dogs. I also find human litter left all over those fields — trash, garbage, mouthguards, clothing, bushel of clams (true), and other unmentionables.

How about the parking issue that was going to be addressed at Chianese Park? Now the people on Prince’s Hill have to navigate around cars that are parked on both sides of the street which results in one way traffic and prohibits safe passage for walking dogs or access to people with disabilities or for any pedestrian. 

I previously muzzled my opinion on these other issues, but this notion of banning our dogs from our parks is enough to make me want to bark! In the end, it’s evidently the dogs that are the problem. 

We simply can’t be serious about all of this; I know I’m not. I’m just hot under the collar and felt the need to speak!  

Fran Callaghan

Barrington