I want to talk about a public nuisance in Milwaukee. This is something you may not notice unless you’ve traveled outside the city. I’m talking about golf carts, the ones we have at every festival, event, and especially the zoo. The zoo ups the ante on obnoxious with empty pickup trucks and the Zoomobile.
I’ve always accepted them as a necessary evil, the way they dart through the crowds every five minutes, first one way and then the other. When I had a child of my own I began to realize just how annoying and careless that traffic can be. Then one day my family traveled to the Columbus zoo and marveled at the fact that we had NOT ONCE needed to clear a path for vehicles. Near closing time is when we finally spotted a cart, that was actually hauling garbage. We began to take note. The phenomenon repeated itself all over: the Toldeo Zoo, Cleveland Zoo, Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, Indianapolis Zoo, Nashville Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, and Central Park Zoo. At the Philadelphia Zoo, billed as the oldest zoo in the nation, we did not see one car in the pedestrian traffic. The same applies to festivals, such as Dublin Irish Fest in Dublin, Ohio.
The Bronx Zoo is the only other place which comes to mind where traffic has been a concern. They run a Zoomobile type shuttle, and it does use the walking paths. Often, however, the path splits to make room for the people. Given the size of the Bronx Zoo, it’s an acceptable compromise. It is worth noting that at this giant zoo the groundskeepers were always seen on foot, sometimes pushing carts.
The ultimate ridiculousness of the Milwaukee way became obvious to me one day in February, at the zoo. The temperature was minus insanity and the zoo was a ghost town. Yet, not less than three times we were forced aside by empty pickup trucks. These trucks couldn’t have been hauling garbage, because there wasn’t anyone there to produce it. They obviously weren’t hauling animal feed, either. I could see no rational explanation for all the rushing about.
I finally decided to blog about this after being in New York City all summer, where pedistrians have proper right of way, only to return to Irish Fest and State Fair. I became so disgusted with seeing ENT1 at Irish Fest that I nearly jumped in front of him to ask why he always had to be on the opposite side of the park from where he was at that moment. One of the times he passed us I had to scoop my three year-old up as they dashed toward each other in a game of chicken. The driver shot me a cute little smile that I wanted to swat with a brick.
The point is that other places have this figured out. Much larger and busier facilities than ours have found ways to deal without the ridiclous golf carts or trucks. What are we doing wrong? There certainly seems to be enough staff everywhere around that garbage and maintenance could be handled in small zones. Do all the other zoos in the country have a tunnel system, or what?
Now that I’ve pointed this out, you too will begin to notice how often you’re clearing a path for cars. If you’re traveling, take note of how different places handle the same situation. When you start to agree with me, keep a few copies of this blog post handy. The next time you visit an event here in Milwaukee, leave a copy on every golf cart you see. You may run out of copies shortly after you arrive.
