I attended the webinar for the master plan. I want that hour and a half back from my life. It was sooooooooooooooooooooo boring. I didn't care what their thinking was on how they develop it. I wanted to know some of that they were putting in it. There were a few glimpses.
The zoo has until 2025 to meet accessibility requirements throughout the site so a lot needs to be done.
One accessibility concern they talked about was the rainforest. They are thinking about utilizing the space better by putting us in the cage and let us move through a tunnel. I think she said suspended. Dont quote me. When the master plan person was talking I zoned out a fair bit.
The new savanna building sounds like its going to be an early priority. They are planning on building it in phases it sounds like. It will be located just off the gorilla habitat and swinging into the service area where the barns all are. I would like to see the gorilla habitat expanded first then use the remaining space for the barn but I know I dont get a vote.
They are really focused on building the daycare.
I think they have dropped the idea of moving the domain completely. It was mentioned that maybe some of the bison, the otters and beavers would move to the space between Tundra Trek and the drive thru and yet somehow be outside of the zoo so people can see them for free. I didnt understand the logic in that. I dont see why you would move the bison who arguably need the most space. If anything and you want to keep it local species then why not shift the moose and eagles up to the area. I think they have also dropped the idea of a Canadian pavilion which then begs some questions about the future of the Americas.
The now it seems plan to keep the temple and expand the jaguar habitat.
They want to expand the Amur tiger habitat and barn. Seems weird its pretty much the last major thing they built but what do I know.
In the parking lot they are thinking about planting more trees on the islands to provide habitats for animals. Heck I think most people would just like shade for their cars. Make the walk from your car seem a little nicer too.
The tech guy was far more interesting then the master plan lady. He mentioned they are looking at so many things to integrate tech into the zoo. Some of the key things I remember include an interactive app that will be your map and provide animal information, audio guides, VR experiences... there were some more things but I might have been texting while watching too.
They want to expand the ugly zoomo fleet. Yippie... more ugly white fake trains...
The new monorail deal isnt dead yet. Though they seemed less sure about it then they had in the past. I think its probably going to fall through.
They are working with other nearby transit to see about getting buses into the zoo thus expanding their possible visitor base.
They want to continue to ramp up their social media presence and do new cool things as the tech on site improves so they can take us places we have never been before. Im guessing they are just talking about their clearly spotty wifi in a lot of the buildings.
They are actually reading our surveys. Several times they made mention of feedback they got from those.
And they made a huge mistake where I'm concerned and let me know an email address. Suckers. You can email the team instead of sending in a million surveys at
masterplan@torontozoo.ca. Alright friends, go nuts and send them your brilliant thoughts. We know we all have at least 5 amazing ideas that could improve the zoo and someone is finally asking us for them. Will they do something one of us suggests? I don't know but they are at least hearing us which is revolutionary for the zoo.
The master plan should be done by the end of June and from the sounds of the master plan person they are not firm on most of their ideas. The only things that sounded like certainties to me were the savanna barn and daycare.
