Toronto Toronto Zoo Ongoing Projects | 13.5m | 2s | Toronto Zoo | Zeidler

[Tulse]

I too am curious about how this system will deal with snow on the tracks. I don't know what the actual thrust is of the system, but I can see the possibility that snow and/or ice would pile up too much for the vehicles to clear it off.

 

[tstormers]

I too am curious about how this system will deal with snow on the tracks. I don't know what the actual thrust is of the system, but I can see the possibility that snow and/or ice would pile up too much for the vehicles to clear it off.

The Maglev trains float above and do not contact "rails" due to magnetic levitation. Ice and snow will have minimal effect to the trains themselves. As for the magnets and main electronics, i am not sure, but from the wiki post on the page before and some other readings I looked at quickly have little effects on the operations of the trains, including high winds. Magnets are strong with electric current running through them.

Cheers,
T

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

The Maglev trains float above and do not contact "rails" due to magnetic levitation. Ice and snow will have minimal effect to the trains themselves. As for the magnets and main electronics, i am not sure, but from the wiki post on the page before and some other readings I looked at quickly have little effects on the operations of the trains, including high winds. Magnets are strong with electric current running through them.

Cheers,
T

That would depend on how wide the gap is no? If I recall correctly the tolerances are fairly tight.

AoD

 

[Tulse]

The Maglev trains float above and do not contact "rails" due to magnetic levitation.

Right, but typically they only float a centimetre or two above the surface, so they will have to plow aside any drifts higher than that, and any ice buildup more than the levitation height will also prove very problematic. I presume there must be some way to clear the tracks, although I don't know of any maglev system that operates in weather similar to ours.

 

[tstormers]

That would depend on how wide the gap is no? If I recall correctly the tolerances are fairly tight.

AoD

Right, but typically they only float a centimetre or two above the surface, so they will have to plow aside any drifts higher than that, and any ice buildup more than the levitation height will also prove very problematic. I presume there must be some way to clear the tracks, although I don't know of any maglev system that operates in weather similar to ours.

Found this:
https://www.eba.bund.de/SharedDocs/...ign principles.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2

Mentions 10cm before the trains would be affected, but also that snow and ice accumulation measures would be implemented to keep the system working. (All by this particular report and might or might not be used for the Toronto Zoo system).

 

[Tulse]

Thanks for the reference!

 

[reteequa]

We are gonna get some poop energy at the Zoo!

https://www.zooshare.ca/about-zooshare/

 

[Northern Light]

We are gonna get some poop energy at the Zoo!

https://www.zooshare.ca/about-zooshare/

Hmm, is this occupying the current overflow parking lot? I hope they have excellent odour control! I like the hiking trail that runs right by this spot............

 

[reteequa]

Hmm, is this occupying the current overflow parking lot? I hope they have excellent odour control! I like the hiking trail that runs right by this spot............

It's going where the grey pin is in the bottom right

 

[Northern Light]

It's going where the grey pin is in the bottom right

View attachment 176564

Thanks!

That is/was indeed the overflow parking...........

 

[reteequa]

Thanks!

That is/was indeed the overflow parking...........

There are two so wasnt sure which one you meant.

 

[jje1000]

Great to see some environmental initiatives going on at the zoo.

I wonder though, is this the only other ongoing capital project aside from the Orangutan Exhibit reconstruction (and the theoretical maglev)?

 

[Northern Light]

Great to see some environmental initiatives going on at the zoo.

I wonder though, is this the only other ongoing capital project aside from the Orangutan Exhibit reconstruction (and the theoretical maglev)?

10 year capital plan is below:

 

[jje1000]

Good to know that they want to put some money into fixing up the welcome area (which is very tired), I haven't been following recent developments closely.

It's unfortunate though that some of the other moves are so far off into the future- one of the bigger threats to visitor numbers is that the zoo feels quite worn out in some areas, and is seen as a one-off experience as a result.

Edit: The 2019 Budget for the chart above.

https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2019/bu/bgrd/backgroundfile-123847.pdf

Interesting though that the Zoo will report back on a Magnovate proposal for the 2020 budget.


Also in related news:

Toronto Zoo seeks $5 million loan from city for ‘outdoor lighting experience’

In a two-page report heading to Mayor John Tory’s executive committee on March 21, zoo officials say the want to put on a “seasonal outdoor lighting experience” starting in December, but need $5 million to finance the contract to design, stage and install the special exhibit.

This is not the first time the zoo has pitched a special attraction to counteract a trend of falling attendance and revenues.

The exhibit, the zoo reported, will see a profit of at least $300,000 and as much as $1.85 million over a three-year period after debt and other repayments. The “most likely” attendance scenario would see $1.16 million in profits, zoo officials wrote.
Speaking to the Star on Thursday, CEO Dolf DeJong said the most likely scenario has since been revised to about $800,000 to $900,000 in profit.

Moment Factory opened Forest Lumina in Coaticook, Que. in 2014. Today, the 2.6-kilometre “multimedia pathway” costs $19.50 per adult and $11.50 for kids. Similar exhibits now exist in five other Canadian cities as well as overseas, coined as “enchanted night walks” on Moment Factory’s website. A video shows large moving animations projected on rocks, trees, screens and other surfaces that can be manipulated by, for example, children jumping up and down on a platform as well as glow-in-the-dark face painting as part of the experience.

The zoo started a bid process in October for a light exhibit, with its board of management awarding the contract to Moment Factory in February.

The cost of the contract was not included in the zoo’s $53.1-million operating budget request for 2019, which was approved by council on March 7.

The exhibit will be designed to attract visitors to the zoo in the off-season, the report says, and will promote conservation awareness.

“Guests are led through the experience as they ‘travel forward in time’ to learn how to ‘enact positive change and improve how we share the earth with other creatures,’” according to the report. It says the show will include “immersive illuminations” and “interactive displays.” The report says the show will be significant enough to draw visitors to the sprawling east Scarborough property.

DeJong said they are looking at a cost range of as little as $15 per child and $25 per adult, which would include parking.

Attendance at the Toronto Zoo has been falling since 2008, according to an earlier Star analysis. As a non-profit city agency, the zoo is substantially subsidized by taxpayers, receiving $12.5 million — or 24 per cent — of its operating funds from property taxes this year.

There were 179,181 fewer visitors in 2018 than budgeted for, according to the latest attendance report presented to the board of management, resulting in $5.76 million less revenue than planned and $1.35 million less than in 2017.

Toronto Zoo seeks $5 million loan from city for ‘outdoor lighting experience’

The Toronto Zoo hopes a light show will attract visitors in the off-season.

www.thestar.com

Agenda Item History 2019.EX3.11

Agenda Item History 2019.EX3.11

app.toronto.ca

 

[jje1000]

Wonder what the long-term plan for the Toronto Zoo is- it definitely needs investment to make it less worn-out, and should definitely emphasize the conservationist and educational aspects of a zoo.

Hopefully the situation may get better once the EELRT brings rapid transit slightly closer to the zoo in the future, as its location is also one of its stumbling blocks.

Strongly disagree with shutting it down, as zoos are excellent places for people to connect with global nature in an immediate nature- otherwise, ecological conservation becomes a few degrees more detached, making it more difficult for people to emphasize (much like how climate change can be difficult for people to take seriously as it's seen in a rather piecemeal manner, that makes it harder for people to connect the dots).


The Toronto Zoo is trying to reinvent itself. Its very survival may be at stake
By Francine Kopun, City Hall Bureau
Sun., June 2, 2019

At a committee meeting shortly after Toronto city council passed its 2019 budget, the Toronto Zoo’s newly minted chief executive officer tried to convince councillors to back a winter light show at the zoo to boost attendance.

He wanted to borrow $5 million for the production and have the city guarantee the loan.

It did not go well.

Dolf DeJong’s presentation was long on buzzwords, short on facts.

It was a rough ride, DeJong conceded later, but the city has learned to regard promises from the Toronto Zoo with an increasingly jaded eye, at a time when regard for animal rights is at a zenith and looming reductions in provincial government funding for municipal programs are making the $12 million the city gives to the zoo each year harder to bear.

Attendance at the zoo was below expectations in 2018, at 1.1 million people — down from a peak of nearly 1.5 million in 2013 — and it’s facing a state-of-good-repair backlog of $68 million over the next 10 years, part of an $83 million capital expenditures plan.

“I think we are at a point in time where we are going to have to give serious consideration as to whether or not the zoo will continue to be a viable entity to the City of Toronto,” Thompson said later, explaining that it’s time to review all options for the zoo, including scaling it down, and possibly, closing it.

“It’s time for a deeper and broader conversation about the zoo,” said Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, who is opposed to the idea of animals in captivity.

“Zoos can provide data you cannot get from the wild,” says Wensvoort.

Zoo supporters also say that zoos fulfil a critically important function — housing populations of animals that would otherwise be extinct. The Toronto Zoo is helping restore populations in the wild, including Blanding’s turtles that are being bred and released into the nearby Rouge River, the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, endangered Vancouver Island Marmots, black-footed ferrets and wood bison.

It has a state-of-the-art wildlife health centre, which includes a hospital with a surgical suite and wards, to conduct research and care for the zoo animals, some of whom, like the population of Toronto itself, are growing older and require more complex care.

“We learn a lot about fundamental biology and the care of these animals in a captive situation which can then be extrapolated to a wild situation as well,” says Dr. Chris Dutton, senior veterinarian.

John Nightingale, the former president and CEO of the Vancouver Aquarium, and DeJong’s former boss, says zoos and aquariums are needed now more than ever because increasingly, people are living in cities, which reduces their contact with nature. Charismatic animals are a huge draw.

“If you’ve never seen a rhinoceros or a giraffe, it’s an intellectual concept,” says Nightingale.

But a 7-year-old looking at a giraffe, looking back at her? It’s a visceral experience. It’s what forges the indelible emotional connection to, and curiosity about nature that lasts a lifetime, turning children into advocates and supporters of the expensive, complex work of supporting wildlife in their habitats, says Nightingale.

Between one-third to one-half of the 29 zoos in Canada that are certified by Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) have some sort of public funding, and a small number are entirely publicly funded, executive director Dr. Susan Shafer says. She says that in the U.S., zoos are moving increasingly towards charitable conservancies for funding. The Toronto Zoo signalled earlier this year that it hopes to start moving in that direction.

DeJong steers away from questions about whether the Toronto Zoo should focus exclusively on animals native to Canada, saying he’s comfortable with the mix of animals the zoo has now.

He says his mission is to bring the so-called “hidden zoo,” — the important conservation work, education and scientific research the zoo does — to light. He also wants to more directly connect animal exhibits to conservation — new signage near the gorillas is an example, informing visitors that their natural habitat is being destroyed by mining for rare earth metals used in cellphones.

“The model I want to lean into is being that conservation-based organization that gets people excited about nature and gets them out there,” DeJong says.

Today, nearly a half century after it opened, the Toronto Zoo looks careworn. Despite the disappointing attendance in 2018, the zoo still draws more than a million people a year. On a recent holiday weekend it was rammed with strollers; adults and children alike going into raptures over a grizzly bear in a pond with a fat turquoise ball, playful as an otter. Toronto long ago overtook Montreal as the country’s largest metropolis and has for now, secured a position among world class cities, but it remains a city with relatively few options for easy family entertainment for all ages and the Toronto Zoo is one of them.

“I think the mandate of the zoo is growing and becoming more of a conservation-based agency, and it’s playing a very important role in the scientific community,” said McKelvie.

While she believes the city should be funding the zoo, she points to the zoo’s new charitable foundation as a possible increased source of funding.

After problems with an earlier charitable endeavour, the zoo set up a new charitable foundation this year — the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservatory, as has been done in the U.S. This week it announced the new executive director. But it’s still in early days.

In the meantime, the distance between the zoo today and its possible futures needs to be bridged by a plan to grow attendance and with it, revenues.

In the end, the Toronto city council didn’t have to back the $5 million loan for the winter light show at the zoo. Toronto’s zoo board decided to use funds from existing charitable donations.

Lumina is scheduled to debut this year.

Whether or not it succeeds will be the first public test of DeJong’s stewardship. But if it does fail, council is unlikely to be surprised and the zoo will have taken another step toward a new future — one that for now seems unsettled at best.

The Toronto Zoo is trying to reinvent itself. Its very survival may be at stake

The Toronto Zoo's new CEO was hired to transform it from its tired state into something vital. But in an era of animal rights and fiscal restraint at city hall, the zoo's future is far from secure.

www.thestar.com