SHRP Press Release, April 26, 2021

Press Release

Press Release

Save the Heart Of Reid Park and Neighborhood Leaders Hold April 27 Press Conference Urging Mayor And City Council To Pick Revised, Much-Lower-Cost Option G

Save Open Green Space for All Tcusonans. We Need More, Not Less.

Press Conference on 4/27/21, noon to 12:30 p.m., followed by short tour In Reid Park - Northeast side of large north pond.

TUCSON, AZ, APRIL 26, 2021 – We want to thank Tucson’s Mayor and Council for their March 9 vote to pause destruction in Reid Park that would have taken precious open green space from the people of Tucson. They did this in response to hundreds of emails and calls demanding that Tucson’s favorite Central Park be preserved.

The Mayor and Council wisely moved that there be a 45-day pause on proposed zoo expansion and that the “City Manager organize a mediated, intentional dialogue with representative and diverse groups of community stakeholders to discuss potential options for compromise.” The process was to be “equitable, transparent, accessible, and structured.”

A revised Option G represents the best compromise and a win-win for the community.

Tucsonans collectively invested over a thousand hours in Community Conversations and Core Stakeholder Group (CSG) meetings. The CSG reached consensus on criteria for Mayor and Council to apply in making their decision about the future of Reid Park. They recommend that any decision incorporate the following:

  1. provide equitable access to the park for the public;

  2. mitigate climate change;

  3. balance cost with community value;

  4. support zoo conservation, education, and entertainment;

  5. incorporate input from all stakeholders in park planning;

  6. preserve public trust in leadership; and

  7. protect neighborhoods from negative impacts of the zoo.

The CSG focused their discussion on Options G and D. As a result of discussion, Option G was significantly improved. This new version of G is the only option that meets all of the recommended criteria.

In the new G surface parking replaces an expensive parking garage, and the need to build a new Therapeutic Recreation Center is replaced with the idea of leasing a much larger, existing facility that better meets the needs of the Center. G avoids covering existing open green space with concrete and preserves the climate-mitigating effect of Reid Park. In contrast, Option D would cover 4.5 acres of open green space with hardscape and add to the heat island effect in Central Tucson. It represents a significant social injustice to the low-income Latino community who make up the majority of park users.

In addition, previous cost estimates failed to ascribe any value to Reid Park land, which is irreplaceable.

While all CSG Stakeholders agreed that completion of a Reid Park Master Plan is essential, the Reid Park Zoological Society would like to commence building an expansion of the Zoo before a Reid Park Master Plan could be completed. Option G supports this goal because it makes no major changes to the green open space in Reid Park, unlike D, which would preempt the master planning process.

The survey developed by the City Manager should not be seen as a substitute for the intentional dialogue requested by Mayor and Council. The survey was not accessible and did not successfully capture the diversity of Reid Park stakeholders. In a community with a 43% Latino population, Latinos were only 14% of responders to the survey.

Both Reid Park and the Reid Park Zoo are community resources that belong to the people of Tucson. The Revised Option G strongly respects this fact.

Once more, a huge thank you to Mayor and Council for their leadership, as well as the Center for Community Dialogue and Training and all the people who gave their time and ideas to make this valuable Community Conversation possible.

For more information about the above, call 520.475.9660 or email savereidpark@gmail.org.