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Isn’t it great sign of Spring to see the many cars and SUVs of zoo-goers and picnickers in the parking lots of Stone Zoo and DCR’s Greenwood Park, just across the street? How wonderful that they can so conveniently benefit from all that the Zoo and the Park offer. But, what about families who don’t drive? How can they get there and back? The answer is, “By Bus” — IF, that is, IF they are up to walking about 1KM from the nearest stop. That’s more than one-half mile. This distance and its impracticalities and hazards may be why “How to Get There” directions to Stone Zoo and Greenwood Park do not include “Take the T”.

MassDOT kindly responded to inquiries as to why Bus 132 (Orange Line to Redstone/Stoneham) does not stop at the Zoo and the Park. Part of that answer is “Safety”: There are no suitable street corners nearby, nor any present way for a bus to turn into and out from the Zoo (southbound) and the Park (northbound) to safely let passengers off and on. The other part of the answer is that providing proper bus stops at the Zoo and the Park would require cooperative effort by MassDOT, Stone Zoo, DCR, and the City of Stoneham.

We’ve all seen the sign to drivers, “T — The Alternate Route”. We drivers, who get ourselves and our families to Stone Zoo and Greenwood Park so easily, should keep in mind families for whom the T is not the “alternative” way to get somewhere and back, but the only way. For their sake, stops on Bus 132 should be established at the Zoo and the Park; and, cooperation to do so should be encouraged and rewarded. For our sake, we drivers and our families will benefit by being with people who so value Nature and Recreation that they will even “Take the T” to get there!

Paul Lang