New Reid Park and Zoo Parking Lot Open
Visitors to Reid Park have a new and more spacious parking opportunity, located just North of the Edith Ball Adaptive Recreation Center (ARC) and Reid Park Zoo.
City of Tucson Parks and Recreation Department and Reid Park Zoo held a tailgate party this morning with a ribbon cutting and free coffee and donuts to celebrate the opening of the new lot and help the public familiarize themselves with how to get there.
The new lot will serve the Zoo, the Adaptive Rec Center and other amenities in Reid Park. It has 433 total spaces, 90 more spaces than the old lot it is replacing, in addition to 54 accessible spaces.
The lot takes the place of a former maintenance yard for Tucson Parks and Recreation, covering existing hardscape and adding 100 new trees, among green features.
The new parking lot paves the way for the Zoo’s Pathway to Asia expansion, which will be constructed in the old Zoo parking lot, and will bring a dedicated reptile house, red pandas, Malayan tigers, Komodo dragons, and other animals to Tucson.
“We are excited to complete this first step toward realizing the new Pathway to Asia project, while at the same time providing a more comfortable and convenient parking experience for guests,” said Nancy Kluge, Reid Park Zoo president and CEO. “We are grateful to the Tucson community through the 2017 tax initiative along with our generous donors who are helping make this project and Pathway to Asia possible,” she adds.
Both the new and old Zoo parking lots will be available to guests through the end of the year. In early 2024, the old Zoo lot will close and crews will break ground on Pathway to Asia.
See photos and video from the opening and download a map on Dropbox.