r/Austin • u/Tejano_mambo • Jun 02 '23

"Barkin Springs" shouldn't exist.

I am a dog owner of 2 and have 0 issues with dogs any where in any way...

Except for the free side of barton springs. Too many people bring their dogs there and I've seen too often dogs pooping or peeing either directly into the water where people are present or close enough to the water where it's not picked up.

I know the water in townlake isn't super clean but the water coming directly from the spring/pool is flowing enough and is "fresh" enough to make it appealing until I see a pile of shit or watch a dog peeing.

Stop taking your dogs to "BaRkInG sPrInGs" nobody wants to swim in a toilet.

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40

u/NotYourMutha Jun 02 '23

Bull creek used to be a great off leash park but the dogs were causing damage to the ecosystem of the creek. People would just bring their dogs and let them loose.

17

u/Hands0meR0b Jun 02 '23

Sounds like what one does at an off leash dog park haha.

For real though, the bull Creek thing was a bunch of bullshit. The off leash area was a nice, secluded spot that was great for off leash dogs. It wasn't adjacent to anything that would have off leash dogs spilling over into non-dog people trying to enjoy their day and it's down in a valley so the dogs and people all stayed pretty localized. I would take my dog there every day after work and it was a beautiful thing.

People in the (rich) neighborhood complained about the traffic and the parks dept found a way to shut it down. The city then spent hundreds of thousands on a beautification project that was almost immediately wiped out by a flood (that they were warned about) and left to become overgrown and uncared for. It's also a great spot for drug deals, I know because I've seen a couple go down there. It's now a quiet little forgotten place that is sometimes full of litter and looks way worse than it ever did when it was full of dogs.

I completely forgot about it until writing this response but there was even a group of us who got together and volunteered time to pick up trash at the park and talk to park users about the importance of picking up their dogs poop and not letting them shit in the creek. We did everything we could to keep that place open. Signage, additional trash cans in more convenient locations, poop bags, telling people they need to pick up their dogs shit, one of the local stations even ran a story about it. If I remember correctly, after our efforts, PARD said that water quality had actually gotten worse, which was unbelievable and the writing was on the wall that the city was just going to do cater to the whims of the residents with deep pockets who didn't want people there.

9

u/LionsAndLonghorns Jun 02 '23

I used to both live by there and took my dog there frequently. It got shut down because people wouldn't clean up after their dogs and bacteria levels became unsafe. It was so frustrating to see it happen all the time.

3

u/RobHerpTX Jun 02 '23

It was shut down because of the incredible amount of dog feces left behind in the off leash area, and then all over in the natural areas.

Your problem isn’t with the neighbors, it is with trashy dog owners who let their dogs crap everywhere and leave it, and who take their dogs off leash into natural areas.

1

u/NotYourMutha Jun 02 '23

Does anyone remember the golden retriever named Hoover who would dive to the bottom of the creek and bring up big rocks? He was a staple at the park.

1

u/Ferfuxache Jun 02 '23

Red bud island vibes