Our view: Compromise, not emotion needed to settle beach issue

—

There is little in public policy that arouses people's emotions more than debates over rules about dogs.

But if the conflict over dogs at Manchester's Singing Beach is going to be resolved in any amicable or productive way, it is going to take setting aside some of those emotions.

Dog owners love to take their pets to the beach. That is true from Cape Ann to Cape Cod and beyond. And those without dogs dislike having to navigate the beach that can be not only crowded with dogs, but littered with their droppings left by irresponsible owners.

Dogs are banned from Singing Beach during the warmer months of the year, from April 30 to Oct. 1. But a group of unhappy residents have placed an article on the Town Meeting warrant to ban dogs from the beach for the entire year. They complain that they are harassed by dogs and their safety and health are threatened by dog droppings.

There ought to be room for compromise here.

Yes, some of the dog owners — perhaps many of them — come from out of town. But many of those same people put a lot of money into the town's pockets during the summer when they pay to come to the beach. Being from out of town should not be a barrier.

But it is reasonable to expect responsibility from dog owners. They should not allow their pets to harass others, and they should come to the beach prepared to pick up after them.

Perhaps better signs urging dog owners to police themselves, with a container with plastic bags for picking up after dogs, could resolve most of the trouble. Or, perhaps some local dog owners could volunteer some time during the most popular hours for walking dogs — early evenings and weekends — to confront irresponsible owners and warn them that they could lose their privileges.

An outright ban might be necessary. But it is not likely, if people on both sides of the issue simply communicate and try some intermediate steps.

That should be what a community — a community that includes many canines — should be about.