Zoo expansion will bring giant parking lot into historic park
This problem deserves a longer post, but I dont have time, so here’s a summary.
-Roeding Park, one of two major parks in Fresno, the oldest and most historic.
-Fresno Chaffee Zoo, located inside the park.
The plan: Expand the zoo by closing off existing portions of the park and making them zoo-land.
The problem: The Roeding Family (they donated the land for the park) is concerned about taking public park land and giving it to the semi-private zoo, and how this will hurt recreation opportunities for the poor (it’s in a poor neighborhood).
My concern: Ignoring THAT issue, the plan has one giant flaw: AN ENORMOUS PARKING LOT! The city wants to bulldoze 100 year old trees to build a giant parking lot. What a great way to celebrate open space in a park!