Wildlights
Woodland Park Zoo will be illuminated in thousands of sparkling LED lights during its first ever winter lights festival, WildLights. (Woodland Park Zoo/Ryan Hawk)

Neighbors complain about Woodland Park Zoo lights

BY Tim Haeck  on November 19, 2012 @ 11:15 am (Updated: 1:41 pm - 11/19/12 )

Large, dramatic displays of lights have become popular during the holidays and the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle is the latest to add a festival of lights. But zoo neighbors complain that the event will create congestion and danger on the streets around the zoo.

WildLights will feature hundreds of thousands of L-E-D lights in the shape of animals and their habitat. It will also attract thousands of visitors at a typically quiet time of the year for the zoo. That's a problem for some people who live in Phinney Ridge and surrounding neighborhoods.

"We're really concerned about the danger of doing something like this, 40 nights in a row," said Diane Duthweiler, President of the Phinney Ridge Community Council. She's organized a website for neighbors to log their specific concerns.

"This is happening at the commuter hour, it's dark, it's rainy, kids are still coming home from after-school activities, we have a lot of one-lane streets," complained Duthweiler.

Zoo spokesman David Schaefer says they've listened to the concerns. To minimize clogging of neighborhood streets, the zoo is offering free parking Monday through Thursday and they've made other changes, too. They've added lighting on 57th Street and they'll "have staff out in orange vests with flashlights" to guide visitors. The zoo is also offering shuttle buses from its south lot to transport visitors to the north end of the zoo where the holiday display of lights is located.

The zoo hopes the event will generate income to help pay for other zoo exhibits. The 40-night long WildLights opens Friday night (Nov. 23) and runs through Jan. 1. Hours are 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. More event details.

Tim Haeck, KIRO Radio Reporter
Tim Haeck is a news reporter with KIRO Radio. While Tim is one of our go-to, no-nonsense reporters, he also has a sensationally dry sense of humor and it will surprise some to learn he is a weekend warrior.
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Comments (19)


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  • Snout wrote...
    Whaaaa.
    November 19, 2012 10:47 am
    Stupid Phinney ridge pansies. So there will be a bunch of people looking at the lights. Ergo they will probably be driving slowwwwwwly along Phinney Ave and 50th. Those aren't one way streets. And if your kids get run over by a slow moving vehicle then perhaps they shouldn't be wandering around in the dark on the side streets. Whining maggots. You live next to a tourist attraction. Deal with it or move. Check that, stay in Seattle where you fracking belong.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • resident wrote...
    Pansies
    November 19, 2012 6:17 pm
    People aren't going to be driving by to look at the lights. They'll be parking and then walking through the exhibit. It wouldn't be such a big deal if they utilized the zoo's (many) parking lots rather than parking in front of our homes blocking us from parking after returning home from work, carrying babies etc. On top of that, most of them "bump" park. Parking isn't really that hard, but the zoo seems to attract a litany of people who seemingly have never operated a motor vehicle and thus "park" by bumping into other cars.
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  • imanegro wrote...
    "We're really concerned about the danger..."
    November 19, 2012 11:35 am
    Yeah, lights are dangerous.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • resident wrote...
    duh
    November 19, 2012 6:18 pm
    It's not the lights, it's the idiots who have to see them.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ironhdron wrote...
    STOP......
    November 19, 2012 12:08 pm
    It is time to either move or go on an extended vacation. Stop complaining about people using Wooland Park. You knew it was there when you moved into the area. I bet you coplain about concerts in the park too.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Diane Duthweiler wrote...
    Zoolights
    November 19, 2012 12:15 pm
    People will be parking and walking inside the zoo to get to Wildlights, so people attending the event will be facing the same hazards as neighborhood residents. Until we pushed back, the zoo was not going to do anything to help alleviate traffic and safety issues. Our efforts helped secure free parking at Wildlights 4 nights a week, a benefit to all. As of today, the zoo has announced it will have people out directing traffic and that it has added some extra lighting. There are 2 buses lines that serve Phinney Ridge and both run alongside the zoo. Not only will Phinney Ridge feel the impact of extra commuter traffic, but so will people trying to reach Wallingford, Fremont, Greenwood and points north via car and the 358 and 5 buses. Bad traffic could hurt businesses in those neighborhoods during the important holiday season. You don’t hear us complaining about zoo concerts, Mom and me, Bunny Bounce, and many other, traditional one day events. The zoo’s management agreement with the city does not allow for new, multi-day events, and as far as I can tell, the zoo did not seek permission from the parks department for Wildlights. In fact, the zoo worked very hard to keep its plans quiet. This is an urban zoo in a neighborhood with mostly one-lane streets - meaning it must accept existing conditions and perhaps limit its plans, as much as I accept days when the zoo is very crowded. Last year, the zoo closed the nocturnal house, saying it didn't have the money to maintain it, yet it has the money to invest a half-million dollars in Wildlights. Two years ago, the zoo paved park space to open a second retail store inside the zoo. Earlier this month, it asked the city for $2-million taxpayer dollars for new parking spaces which I suspect it wants to create to support the events center it has planned for the zoo. I simply want the zoo to stay a green park, and not turn into a Disney-style theme park. The zoo's CEO makes more than Seattle's mayor. Zoo attendance has remained the same for about 10 years, so I can't see the need for more parking. And from what I understand, the zoo is making less per person for each person who enters the zoo than it has in past years, so all these "improvements" only seem to be hurting the zoo.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • 770 Sports Fan wrote...
    Worried about traffic around the Zoo? Take back the bike lanes
    November 19, 2012 3:52 pm
    Where was your concern for alleviating traffic and safety issues when complete lanes of traffic around the lake and Zoo were turned into bike lanes? If you REALLY had any feelings for the impact of extra commuter traffic by people trying to reach Phinney Ridge, Wallingford, Fremont, Greenwood or any where else in the city you would have put up a fight to prevent whole traffic lanes being removed for under used bike lanes through out Seattle!!! The zoo is called "The Seattle Zoo" for a reason! It belongs to the 4,269,349 people in the Seattle area, not just those who live around Phinney Ridge. Your real problem is that you think everyone should care that you simply want the zoo to stay your very own "green park" And as for the zoo's CEO making more than Seattle's mayor, he does a much better job than the idiot Mayor so he should be paid more
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gb1118 wrote...
    Diane....
    November 19, 2012 1:25 pm
    You are a whiney b1tch. It's people like you that make it so hard to do ANYTHING in Seattle. Why don't you just move away to your libtard, P.C. utopia, wherever that may be, and let normal people in Seattle have a little fun this holiday season. Oh, and take the stick out of your a55, you might enjoy life a little more.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ted Bundi wrote...
    Why did you buy knowing you were going to be near a public venue?
    November 19, 2012 8:32 pm
    And now that I come into the city, to enjoy city lights, from the country, and still pay King County outrages taxes to preserve my land for you to enjoy, you complain?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bowlman wrote...
    BUNCH OF...
    November 19, 2012 1:54 pm
    WHINERS!!!! BOO HOO! Probably more about it being CHRISTMAS than about lights. Go find something REAL to complain about, and let US CHRISTIANS enjoy CHRISTMAS!!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Mo Gaud wrote...
    Christianity...
    November 19, 2012 2:58 pm
    is all about electric lights.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • McCormick wrote...
    Jebus Clause
    November 20, 2012 1:16 pm
    I'm all for the Wildlights, so don't misunderstand where I'm coming from. I was enjoying the back-and-forth on this, and then I saw this comment, "let US CHRISTIANS enjoy CHRISTMAS." That is a most epic, asinine, statement. What in the flip do Christmas lights in the shape of zoo animals have to do with Christianity? Seriously man, c'mon.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sweetpea123 wrote...
    hmmmm, quite a dilemma...
    November 19, 2012 3:26 pm
    I guess, that rather than allowing the zoo the opportunity to raise revenue w/ yet another attraction, I assume these residents wouldn't mind a few more tax dollars every year going to the zoo. Right? It's the holidays, how sad that another grinch is trying to make it a sour one.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • releggneh wrote...
    Cry babies
    November 19, 2012 5:56 pm
    Teally, is this the only thing you people have got to beech about? Maybe you shouldn't have bought a house by a public attraction like a ZOO. I guess as long as it fills your needs, you like the convenience of living next to a zoo. Get a fricking clue and try to enjoy the holidays instead of trying to make others miserable.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • nobelard wrote...
    Sounds Cool
    November 19, 2012 7:46 pm
    Think I'll check it out.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • londonpacific wrote...
    Really??
    November 19, 2012 8:48 pm
    You live in the same neighborhood as one of the most visited attractions in Seattle! Do you not expect people to visit it and utilize all the streets and parking around it? Yes people may bump into your car if it's on the street, just like they might if you park next to the Aquarium, or Quest or Safeco or visit Belltown. That's why they call them bumpers....This is just part of the deal with living in a big city. You don't live in a rural part of town. It's a fantastic idea, kid's love it, and it brings in business to the neighborhood. Personally I wouldn't want all the traffic on my street, which is why I don't live by the zoo...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cw1997 wrote...
    Seriously
    November 20, 2012 6:08 am
    Let's see we pay for lights, streets and sidewalks....so now we are not supposed to use them...the end is near very very near
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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