The cigarette butt-smell issue on the beach is an issue ("A beach without the butts," Editorial, Aug. 16). But not the worst or the biggest. It's a nuisance. Worse is getting to the beach, where at the end of every street sits the walkway and public toilet of ever dog in a 3 block area.

Unfortunately there just isn't a lot of grassland around, and these public spaces have become public restrooms. People (not all) allow their animals to wet in the middle of the trail, forcing children and others to walk through it. Most owners will pick up feces, but nothing is done about the other liquid stuff.

By late August, the end of every street just plain stinks like some back alley, especially if there has been little rain. This is a public health issue. Rather than banning butts, how about banning dog butts off of the ends of our streets in season like other beaches?

Jeffrey P. Mozal, Ocean City