Each of us has two realities; the way we view ourselves and the way the world views us. Usually the two bear scant resemblances with the second closer to verisimilitude. I mention this because an aspect of Sandy Springs has a tainted image in some corners of metropolitan Atlanta.
A few weeks ago we took our two dogs to an off-leash park in Dunwoody. The park offers a little over 2 acres of fenced woods for dogs to run and sniff. Someone asked where we were from and when we said Sandy Springs one would have thought I’d smacked them with a dirty mop.
“Sandy Springs! The dog park over there is terrible! I’d never take my dog there. What were they thinking?” A few nearby dog partisans likewise chimed in with their dour inclination of our park and it began to feel like a lynch mob might be forming.
However, I have since visited the dog park here in our little borough and confess I find it wanting. Located at Morgan Falls Park, it is a pleasant fenced grassy field with no shade. There’s a mighty swell view of the river, but I’ve met few pups who were enamored with such.
Compared to the Dunwoody facility, ours approximates the exercise yard in “The Shawshank Redemption.” I’d add that the canine facility at Piedmont Park is no better and I’m not hearing catcalls, so to speak, about that.
Were I a betting man I’d say the dog-park issue is not going to compel the mayor and City Council into emergency session. I doubt pollsters will be flown in by private jet to assess the potential damage this might do.
But what do we do as a city with things that fall under the category of middlin’ on the priority list? There will always be a number of items that will never work their way to the top of the to-do list, nor should they. Still, they are on the list.
Would the time and money the city would spend finding a better parcel of land — assuming there could be consensus on what constituted “better” — acquiring it, zoning it and developing it be better spent on public safety or infrastructure improvements?
People without dogs might have a rather stentorian opinion on this. Cyclists could build a case for more bike-friendly lanes around town. Creative folk might make a polemic for our community becoming a haven for the arts.
I have been around politicians enough to know one true thing. Even the most honorable and adroit know how to do their jobs, and they know how to make people happy. They just don’t know how those two can be done at the same time on a consistent basis.
I don’t know the slam-dunk solution for the adulterated reputation Sandy Springs appears to have concerning its dog park, but I do know one thing moving forward. From now on when we visit the dog park in Dunwoody and someone asks where I’m from, I’ll pull my ball cap farther down and tell them Truth or Consequences, N.M.
Jim Osterman lives in Sandy Springs. Reach him at jimosterman@rocket mail.com
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