27 replies to this topic

[Carter711]

Zoo plans $35 million in improvements

http://www.projo.com...19.31db275.html

Projo also features a virtual tour of the proposed renovations

http://www.projo.com...show_flash/zoo/

[runawayjim]

Carter711, on Sep 19 2006, 12:26 AM, said:

Zoo plans $35 million in improvements

http://www.projo.com...19.31db275.html

Projo also features a virtual tour of the proposed renovations

http://www.projo.com...show_flash/zoo/

what's new about this?  i was at the zoo in the spring and most of those places were there.  they were only just renovating the polar bear exhibit.

[Mij]

runawayjim, on Sep 19 2006, 07:22 AM, said:

what's new about this?  i was at the zoo in the spring and most of those places were there.  they were only just renovating the polar bear exhibit.

New England trail and children's zoo-
Theme of a more up-close zoo experience-
Expanding the living quarters of its three female elephants.
Multi-sensory play zones and a two-story, handicap-accessible tree house-
Freestanding veterinary hospital and animal-care center to replace the facility in the basement of the zoo's administration building.

Those seem like the major improvments. Along with a better configuration of viewing the zoo. One theme I took away from the article was walkability/accesability.
I enjoy the zoo at it's current state. Bringing my two year son really is awsome. The way children open their eyes to the world of wildlife is just so cool. Being able to see that on a larger scale is something I look forward to. I cant wait to see the tree house...

[MikeR]

Carter711, on Sep 19 2006, 12:26 AM, said:

Zoo plans $35 million in improvements

http://www.projo.com...19.31db275.html

Projo also features a virtual tour of the proposed renovations

http://www.projo.com...show_flash/zoo/

The zoo definately needs an upgrade.  I take my kids there every spring; it was getting stale.  The layout of the zoo is not condusive - you have to backtrack sometimes to see all the animals.  This past year was espically boring with the closure of the polar bear exhibit.  The Marco Polo Trail wastes some space - there's never anything at the "Venitian Plaza" when you first walk in.  The Wetlands Trail is just OK - I wish there was some exhibits along the way.  Where theyt show the dinaosars they should use that space better and have a few more full-time exhibits.

[mental757]

the wetlands trail was closed a few times this year because it was, well, too wet...

I think this is great news - I'm all for improving an already great facility that attracts people to the city.

As far as it being stale, I couldn't agree more - we didn't renew our membership this year because of that exact reason...

[mental757]

PROJO: "Providence zoo to build ‘high-rise’"

http://www.projo.com...UJ.2276484.html

[Garris]

mental757, on Jun 4 2007, 03:41 PM, said:

PROJO: "Providence zoo to build ‘high-rise’"

http://www.projo.com...UJ.2276484.html

Wow, sounds very cool....  Still amazing to realize the Zoo gets over half a million visitors a year (!!).

- Garris

[smcbride11]

Garris, on Jun 4 2007, 09:05 PM, said:

Wow, sounds very cool....  Still amazing to realize the Zoo gets over half a million visitors a year (!!).

- Garris

Wow, that many?

It's also worth noting here that the zoo is free to all Providence residents on the first Saturday of every month.

Edited by smcbride11, 04 June 2007 - 08:38 PM.

[ItalMG]

The "treehouse" project actually became a studio in the Industrial Design Dep't at RISD a few years back.  It's nice to see it - hopefully - come to life

[pdxstreetcar]

they really need a soundwall to block out the noise and view of I-95

[runawayjim]

pdxstreetcar, on Jun 6 2007, 03:48 PM, said:

they really need a soundwall to block out the noise and view of I-95

why?  go to the bronx zoo or the philadelphia zoo.  you hear the sounds of the city when you're near the park boundaries in those zoos as well.  the only thing i could think of is maybe a sound barrier along the side of 95 like they have in some residential neighborhoods (though i don't think we have any in RI).  i just don't think it's a big deal and it doesn't seem to be a deterrent to visitors.

[Lone Ranger]

pdxstreetcar, on Jun 6 2007, 03:48 PM, said:

they really need a soundwall to block out the noise and view of I-95

I think that begs the question: is a city park supposed to be an immersive experience?  Or more specifically, is a zoo supposed to be an immersive experience?

Jim's examples would indicate not.  I personally don't frequent many zoos, I'm afraid.  

[Gusterfell]

Lone Ranger, on Jun 6 2007, 04:59 PM, said:

I think that begs the question: is a city park supposed to be an immersive experience?  Or more specifically, is a zoo supposed to be an immersive experience?

I would say that a city park like Burnside or Waterplace should absolutely be an immersive experience, and the sounds of the surrounding city add to the quality of the space.  On the other hand, I think such outside sounds would be a destraction from the primary focus of a zoo.

[runawayjim]

Gusterfell, on Jun 6 2007, 06:42 PM, said:

I would say that a city park like Burnside or Waterplace should absolutely be an immersive experience, and the sounds of the surrounding city add to the quality of the space.  On the other hand, I think such outside sounds would be a destraction from the primary focus of a zoo.

but again, i'll make the examples of the bronx zoo and the philadelphia zoo, both of which are surrounded by city streets that have city noise.  it doesn't distract from those zoos.  i've been to RWZ and i can't even remember the highway being a problem.  if it was, i'd remember it.  i enjoyed my experience there, being a smaller zoo.

if you want a game farm, go to the catskills or maine.  this is a zoo in a city park and it's obviously not preventing people from going if it gets more visitors per year than we thought.  i don't think a barrier would increase the number by a whole lot.

[Lone Ranger]

Gusterfell, on Jun 6 2007, 06:42 PM, said:

I would say that a city park like Burnside or Waterplace should absolutely be an immersive experience, and the sounds of the surrounding city add to the quality of the space.  On the other hand, I think such outside sounds would be a destraction from the primary focus of a zoo.

Quite the contrary.  To me, it seems self-evident that, for a downtown city park like Burnside or Waterplace or Bushnell in Hartford or Boston Common or Central Park, the park's purpose is obviously not intended to be an immersive experience -- in the sense of being a place where somebody can become one with Mother Nature, if you will.  If you want peace & quiet and absolute tranquility, you head to the sticks, not a downtown park.  In a downtown park, you are going to hear and see and maybe even smell the city around you.  It's unavoidable.

I thought about saying this in my earlier post, but I didn't want to clutter the conversation with an unnecessary debate.  Perhaps I needed to.  Because to my mind, unlike all the examples above, a) RWP isn't a downtown city park, and and that might muddy the question somewhat the question of the park's purpose; also, b) it's the zoo under scrutiny here, not the park only, and that might muddy the question some more.

But even while not being a downtown city park, RWP is still a city park, and Providence (one of the 10 densest cities among all American cities with a population of 100K or greater) is definitely the city.  So I'm not sure we can treat our city park as if it ought to be an uninterrupted natural retreat.  We don't have the kind of land available to make that possible.  Should a city park provide a respite from city life?  Certainly.  A retreat?  Perhaps not.

Furthermore, simply to state the obvious here, if one can't enjoy a zoo with the knowledge that it neighbors an interstate superhighway, then why did we build ours directly abutting an interstate superhighway?  

[smcbride11]

Lone Ranger, on Jun 7 2007, 01:54 AM, said:

Furthermore, simply to state the obvious here, if one can't enjoy a zoo with the knowledge that it neighbors an interstate superhighway, then why did we build ours directly abutting an interstate superhighway?  

I could be wrong, but I *think* the noise you hear from RWP Zoo is not I-95, but rather RI-10.  Not that it's material to this discussion anyway.

The important point to note, however, is that we didn't build next to the highway - the highway was built next to the park.  Throughout RWP, you'll see badges on the sidewalk that say WPA 19xx (insert anything between 1939 and 1941 for the date).  Eisenhower's Interstate system didn't exist back then, so it's tough to blame city planning for the park's location.

Having said all that, I've never honestly been bothered by the road noise from the highway.  I think the biggest deterrent to people going to the zoo is the neighborhood and the appearance of the park in general.  Wash Park/Elmwood isn't exactly known as a good neighborhood (even though it's one of the city's safest areas), and the sheer volume of trash on the ground in RWP is honestly disgusting - having lived on RWP for over a year, I was always amazed that the city let the park continue to look like that.



Edit:  The one thing I should note while bashing the park was that the city's response and tree cleanup after the massive wind/lightning storm a while back (the one that blew up the port) was nothing short of amazing.  I counted over 100 trees downed during that storm, and the city had the bulk of it cleaned up within three days.  It really was impressive.

Edited by smcbride11, 07 June 2007 - 06:46 PM.

[runawayjim]

smcbride11, on Jun 7 2007, 08:45 PM, said:

I could be wrong, but I *think* the noise you hear from RWP Zoo is not I-95, but rather RI-10.  Not that it's material to this discussion anyway.

no, it is 95.  10 ends by the southern section of the park, but 95 runs right along the northwestern edge, where the zoo is located.  the only thing that could be done with the highway is build the sound barriers along the edge of the highway.  maybe they can even paint cool zooey pictures on the backs of them or something to be visible from the zoo.

[Lone Ranger]

smcbride11, on Jun 7 2007, 08:45 PM, said:

I could be wrong, but I *think* the noise you hear from RWP Zoo is not I-95, but rather RI-10.  Not that it's material to this discussion anyway.

The important point to note, however, is that we didn't build next to the highway - the highway was built next to the park.  Throughout RWP, you'll see badges on the sidewalk that say WPA 19xx (insert anything between 1939 and 1941 for the date).  Eisenhower's Interstate system didn't exist back then, so it's tough to blame city planning for the park's location.

Having said all that, I've never honestly been bothered by the road noise from the highway.  I think the biggest deterrent to people going to the zoo is the neighborhood and the appearance of the park in general.  Wash Park/Elmwood isn't exactly known as a good neighborhood (even though it's one of the city's safest areas), and the sheer volume of trash on the ground in RWP is honestly disgusting - having lived on RWP for over a year, I was always amazed that the city let the park continue to look like that.
Edit:  The one thing I should note while bashing the park was that the city's response and tree cleanup after the massive wind/lightning storm a while back (the one that blew up the port) was nothing short of amazing.  I counted over 100 trees downed during that storm, and the city had the bulk of it cleaned up within three days.  It really was impressive.

Jim is right.  Rt 10 runs touches the other end of the park, closer to the Temple of Music.  95 touches the zoo.

As for the issue of trash, I think the park crews do a pretty good job during the week, but I take it that they don't work weekends.  Meanwhile, the park sees much of its heaviest use on weekends.  So by the end of any given weekend (when the weather is seasonable), all of the trash barrels in the park are overflowing with waste.  Overtime, anybody?  No?

Aside from that, I don't mind the overall appearance of the park, but I think it needs ... a wee bit of upgrading.  Needed: new curbstones, speed humps, better signage, more planting of new trees, and a continuous, logical system of sidewalks.  But all of these things cost money, don'cha know.  I'm no expert in these things, but I daydream about the city doing something creative like creating a TIF and developing denser, more intensive uses in the areas around the park to divert some extra money the park's way.

[basachs]

With the issue of noise, I think the primary focus for a zoo should be the animals it contains. Is the noise affecting them? If so, then something should be done. If not, then the humans should deal with it.  The animals do, and they live there full time.

[mental757]

PROJO:  "Where the polar bears used to be"

http://www.projo.com...1D.33a2f1a.html


can we change this to "In-Progress"??