[Boreal]

Absolutely. Assiniboine Park should have an urban makeup in addition to the giant Green Space, much like Stanley Park in Vancouver (the Aquarium, etc.). A spring/summer/fall beer garden would be interesting. Administratively, I suppose there would be challenges regarding policy on over-consumption, litter, etc. It is the type of outside the box thinking that I hope our administrators start to actively consider.

Andy6, I don't mean to come across as saying we should copy Calgary, but their zoo is unquestionably a very successful operation that we would be foolish not to consider as a model. There aren't many zoos operational, but that is even more reason for us to look after ours. To say a rundown zoo is better than no zoo and perhaps something that we should accept seems strange to me. Whether I'm in competition with 1 or 100,000, my goal is to be the best. For Winnipeg to be last or near last of a small group (metros with zoos) is not something I take pride in. I don't want to throw around the term world-class, but I want something to call our own, and not just to say we have but to be proud of what we have. If that takes a few dollars, then I hope we follow through instead of the coming stance of wondering how the poorest of the poor will afford to go.

A society is to be judged by how it treats its most unfortunate. With that being said, accessibility of a zoo is not in any way a measure of the condition of the financially disadvantaged people of Winnipeg.