DESIGN OF PARK AND RECREATION AREAS 187 



3. Zoological features. Presence of specimens of native animal, bird, 

 insect and water life is desirable, except for those specimens that are either 

 dangerous or troublesome to people. There are some large parks in this 

 country that at certain times of the year are practically useless because of 

 swarms of mosquitoes. Every large park should be a bird sanctuary, not 

 only because of the pleasure that people have from their songs, plumage 

 or habits, but also because of the protection which they afford to plant forms. 



Elements Involved in Design. Designing of areas selected for large parks 

 involves : 



1. Conservation of natural resources of the areas. 



2. Making such additions as will preserve the integrity of the park as, 

 for example, screening the park by heavy plantations or by mounds and 

 plantations against the city, which nearly always tends to press upon these 

 areas; or bringing out some possibility, as in creating a lake by empounding 

 water, planting some barren spot which might be more beautiful and useful 

 if covered with trees and shrubs, or filling up some marshy area that would 

 be more beautiful and useful as a meadow. 



3. Making the various parts of the park accessible by a system of 

 driveways, bridle paths and footpaths. 



4. The introduction of such recreational, educational-recreational, and 

 service facilities as will enable the people to secure greater enjoyment and 

 comfort from their temporary sojourn in the park. 



5. The introduction of service facilities necessary for the proper main- 

 tenance and operation of the park. 



The general principle to be followed in designing the facilities men- 

 tioned under 3, 4 and 5 is so to design them that they will merge as com- 

 pletely as possible into the surrounding natural forms and not assume a 

 primary and important position in the general design. This is especially 

 true of those facilities under 4 and 5. 



Making Parks Accessible. Among the measures for making various 

 parts of a park accessible are the following: 



i. Pleasure driveways. Before the advent of the automobile a primary 

 feature of the designs of all large parks was a system of carriage driveways. 

 These driveways were, as a general rule, comparatively narrow, often quite 

 winding, and did not require an excessively heavy and costly roadbed and 

 surfacing. The use of such driveways by fairly slow-moving, horse-drawn 

 vehicles was not inconsistent with the primary purpose of the park. The 

 automobile has changed all this to such an extent that the presence of 

 these driveways is an anachronism, a distinct detriment to the primary 

 purpose or purposes of these areas and of very little recreational value to 

 motorists. They have become in many instances avenues for rapid move- 



