Who We Are

Save the Heart of Reid Park (SHRP) is a coalition of Tucson citizens and activists who came together to confront a threat to Reid Park’s free-access public space, a threat initially revealed in a letter to the Arizona Daily Star. In her November 6, 2020 letter, Bonnie Wehle alerted the community to Reid Park Zoo’s inadequately publicized plans to expand into the 3.5 acres considered by most users to be the very heart of the park and its most beautiful and beloved public space. Since then, our growing coalition has engaged in ceaseless public outreach about this threat and worked indefatigably—with the City of Tucson, Parks and Recreation, Reid Park Zoo, neighborhood associations, and the broader Tucson community—to propose viable alternatives for the Zoo’s expansion that would both protect and preserve the cherished heart of Reid Park.

The Threat

Tucsonans have voted Gene C. Reid Park “Best Park” every year since 2009. The Heart of Reid Park is the area west of Lakeshore Lane that includes Barnum Hill, the little waterfall and the more natural South Pond. This area is a special sanctuary for the people of Tucson. If you live in Tucson you have most likely played, walked your dog or had a picnic in this area. Thanks to the activism of thousands of Tucsonans, on May 4th, 2021, Tucson’s Mayor and Council approved a motion that included the words “Continue the suspension of the zoo expansion to allow for a new design that will have the effect of saving Barnum Hill and the South Duck Pond.” We are grateful for this.

Through the community Dialogue Circles and the Core Stakeholders Group the community found a way to make it possible to expand the Reid Park Zoo and leave all Reid Park green space intact by building on existing hardscape. This was done in consideration of Mayor and Council’s request, despite the fact that funds from Proposition 203 were not designated by voters for zoo expansion (as Mayor Romero pointed out in her March 3 letter.)

In the week before the May 4th vote nationally renowned Tucson architect Bob Vint of Tucson’s world-class Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum assisted in perfecting the plan, which became known as Option G Minor, and presented it to Mayor and Council.

Yet at this time it is unclear what plan is going to be enacted by the City of Tucson for zoo expansion. Immediately after the vote on May 4th, Mayor Romero began to sum up what she and the council had just voted on. The following is a transcription of what she and then Council Member Cunningham said:

Mayor Romero: [….] Move forward with D-plus, potentially a hybrid D-G approach.

Council member Cunningham: Wait, that motion specifically said D-plus?

Mayor Romero: No, I’m just calling it D-plus. It’s a bit of a hybrid.

Council member Cunningham: The way I listened to the motion is that the G Minor Option is going to be considered. If that isn’t being…

Mayor Romero: That’s what it is! Council member Cunningham, that’s exactly what it is. I called it D-plus, D-G hybrid.

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Save the Heart of Reid Park will continue to seek clarification of what the process will be moving forward.

What is clear is that the community needs to continue to be engaged to protect Reid Park parkland from attempts to destroy it.

Destruction of precious Reid Park acreage, Barnum Hill and the south duck pond (see above), was initially scheduled for February 2021. Because of public outcry demolition was paused by the Mayor and City Council in early March 2021. We recently learned that permits for demolition of parkland and construction on Reid Park had not been granted, so demolition could not have proceeded in March, whether or not Mayor and Council had declared a pause.

If any part of the Reid Park area designated as “D” in the City Manager’s survey, which is north of the north duck pond, were to be used for zoo expansion it would be covered in concrete. There is absolutely no reason for such a plan to be carried out since, as noted above, Tucson voters did not vote for zoo expansion, and there is an outstanding plan through which the zoo could be expanded on existing hardscape.

Our Position on Best Options for Reid Park

SHRP’s position regarding the best options in Reid Park for the Tucson community:

Because of all the benefits green space provides, all Reid Park green space is precious and is to be preserved. For more, please see Our Stance on Options.

Our Vision

SHRP envisions Tucson’s flagship park as integrating, by design of a carefully crafted Reid Park Master Plan, various venues for public activities, chief among them expansive free-access green space, to promote the environmental, societal, economic and health benefits that a large, well-maintained urban park provides, its benefits to be enjoyed equitably by all.

Why It Matters

Public parks are valuable assets, especially in large urban settings. They attract new residents and businesses, offer venues for social gatherings and foster stable communities, provide exposure to nature and places for recreation, promote physical and psychological health, sustain a wide variety of flora and fauna, and help mitigate myriad environmental problems. If we take care of our parks, they will take care of us.

For Reid Park the conversion of Barnum Hill and the South Pond with its recirculating stream into an Asian Tiger exhibit would mean destruction of many magnificent old-growth trees and their vital root system, displacement of turtles and domestic and migratory birds that inhabit the South Pond, elimination of a free-access park space and a children’s wonderland, and rupture of historical continuity for thousands of Tucsonans who have celebrated milestones there over the past 50 years.

Loss of all the tall shade trees and duck pond would elevate heat in an increasingly heat- and drought-stressed part of the city. Birders would find fewer species of birds to view. Everyone would miss close encounters with turtles and waterfowl. Children would lack a favorite place to play and develop new motor skills; adults would be denied a beloved social space. Many families would be unable to afford the Zoo’s price of admission to visit the new tiger exhibit. And, once again, Tucsonans would experience a significant shrinkage of the free-access public space in their flagship park, with all the social inequity and decreased quality of life that would entail. For these reasons and more, SHRP adamantly opposes the Zoo expansion into these 3.5 acres of Reid Park. If the Zoo must expand, other options are available and must be considered.