Stanley Park's Polar Bear pit back in the news

 In a news item, CBC's Justin McElroy writes about a proposal to turn the old Stanley Park Zoo polar bear pit into an 'urban spa'. For those old enough to remember, the polar bear pit was a concrete bear pit within the old zoo. The bears paced back and forth in lethargic stupors, imprisoned in concrete and metal. To call it cruel and unusual punishment for majestic animals caught and held captive through no fault of their own would be an understatement. For many, the polar bear pit was the final nail in the coffin of the zoo. The zoo closed in December of 1997, one hundred and nine years after it was first opened as a pound. The zoo was closed after a plebiscite in 1994 showed it was an anachronism no longer wanted by the citizenry [more history can be found in Scout Magazine].

A 1963 photo of the polar bear enclosure at the Vancouver Zoo in Stanley Park. 

It was shut down in 1996. (City of Vancouver)

Since then, while the rest of the former zoo site has been rehabilitated, or overtaken by the ever-expanding Vancouver Aquarium, the polar bear pit languished, abandoned, fenced away and covered by brush, unseen to most visitors. Now, 25 years later an architect has proposed taking over the old site and making it into an urban spa. No price tag was attached to the proposal presented in the article, nor who would pay for it, but it would seem that it will be presented to the Vancouver Park Board at a future meeting. 

Strange proposals are not new to the Park Board. About 15 years ago the NPA-led Board proposed animatronic dinosaurs for Stanley Park. There have been temporary zip lines, a Ferris Wheel, and a circus tent at Queen Elizabeth Park, and each year VanDusen Botanical Gardens hosts a classic car show on its Great Lawn.

It isn't clear whether this would be a private initiative, a public/private, or a wholly public one. When one considers the land values in downtown Vancouver, this could be a real financial plum for a private initiative. And of course, this initiative comes with 'no business plan or budget' attached to it. Once the new Commissioners learn the cost of rehabilitating the site they might understand why it hasn't been done before.

What is new is that a Green Commissioner would be an advocate for such blatant commercialization of public spaces. Newly elected Green Party Commissioner Tom Digby seems to be supporting this initiative wholeheartedly. What makes this troubling is, despite all the work previous Boards have done on reconciliation, this new proposal would be presented without prior consultation with the three First Nations that have called Stanley Park home since time immemorial, and who now have a working relationship with the Park Board through the Stanley Park Intergovernmental Table, and despite the Park Board's initiative to co-manage Vancouver Parks with the Nations.

Previous Green-led Boards opposed further commercialization of Vancouver parks. It is not surprising that the ABC majority on the current Board would be interested in more commercialization--the Chair of the Board says he would 'love to see this come forward'-- but for a Green Commissioner to express such support without even an idea of how this will impact the park or the relationship with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples beggars' belief.

By all means, accept the proposal and have staff do a thorough analysis if that is the will of the Board, but Commissioners should be doing their due diligence, not being cheerleaders for unsolicited projects.