General public comments wished on Bowmanville Zoo re-advancement
Bowmanville Zoo in happier times
A system at the very least a 50 %-dozen many years in the building to switch the former Bowmanville Zoo into a “signature” municipal park is bit by bit getting shape, with public suggestions preferred on a proposed design for the 34-acre residence.
The Municipality of Clarington is calling on the local community to assistance develop an “inspiring vision” for a park that “honours the purely natural and cultural heritage of this beloved residence.”
“The zoo lands keep a particular position in all of our hearts in this article in Clarington,” claimed Mayor Adrian Foster. “We have a one of a kind possibility to make an unbelievable general public house listed here. We are doing work with the group to refine the design and style vision for this park. Thanks to our associates at Valleys 2000, Clarington Council is energized to shift forward in making a park that will honour the background of the lands, safeguard the all-natural surroundings, extend Bowmanville’s path process, and build new cultural and neighborhood areas for all people to love.”
Through general public consultations for the Parks, Society and Recreation Grasp Approach, municipal staff members and Council heard from inhabitants about their priorities for the zoo lands, with this phase of session symbolizing a third round of public enter into the job. Local group business Valleys 2000 got the ball rolling when they employed a style firm to build an original plan, which was introduced to Council last spring.
The deserted Bowmanville zoo in 2018, two decades soon after it shut. Photo by Freaktography
Valleys 2000 President Ron Strike reported his team is “keen” to function with the municipality on the project. “As we are well into the design and style system for this fascinating park possibility, Valleys 2000 seems to be forward to the community’s reaction to the proposal.”
The Bowmanville Zoo was established in 1919 and by the time it shut in 2016 – amid charges of animal cruelty – it was the oldest non-public zoo in North The us.
The Zoo became a major provider of animals for the Hollywood film marketplace after Michael Hackenberger took around in 1988, with elephants, lions, tigers, monkeys and camels amid the zoo residents who appeared in movies like Existence of Pi, The Ghost and the Darkness and the Oshawa-filmed Billy Madison.
Zoo elephants were being also normal contributors in regional events, these types of as the Bowmanville Santa Claus Parade.
The zoo shut following a “catastrophic” decrease in site visitors adhering to a string of animal abuse fees laid against Hackenberger in 2016, just 3 several years shy of the zoo’s centennial.
Now Clarington is hoping the historic assets can return to its cruelty-totally free placement of prominence in the local community, with residents invited to go to www.clarington.internet/BowmanvillePark to evaluate the latest layout eyesight, sign up for the dialogue and share opinions about layout features making use of an interactive mapping resource.
The circus-design acts that landed the zoo in sizzling h2o with the SPCA
“A special and historic space deserves a special – even audacious – strategy,” mentioned Ward 2 Councillor Lloyd Rang, who is encouraging guide the planning procedure. “Thanks to Valleys 2000 and municipal staff members for bringing members of the community jointly to enable build this proposal for a signature park in the heart of Bowmanville. We have a the moment-in-a-life time probability right here to develop Clarington’s own model of New York City’s Central Park – a space that consists of purely natural capabilities and cultural attractions we never have anyplace else in Clarington. I stimulate every person to carry on to weigh in and aspiration huge.”
There will also be two in-individual General public Information Centres in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Administrative Centre in Bowmanville:
- Tuesday, April 16, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Master more, share your opinions and subscribe to venture updates at www.clarington.net/BowmanvillePark.
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