FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Some big changes could be headed to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo next year.
On Thursday, Fresno City Council is set to hear a proposal that could bring as many as two multi-level parking structures to the zoo, specifically making important changes to the parking facilities in Roeding Park.
According to Fresno city council member Miguel Arias, the city council will consider a recommendation to enter an exclusive negotiated agreement with the zoo corporation that runs Fresno Chaffee Zoo.
“The purpose of that agreement is to flesh out the details on the development of a brand-new parking garage that would provide up to 750 new parking stalls adjacent to the entrance of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, providing a lot of relief of the congestion of traffic,” he said.
Along with the addition of hundreds of parking spaces, Arias says zoo officials are working on other ways to improve the zoo, including approving the construction of a new development center and switching to a new water system.
“All the landscape at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo will be irrigated with recyclable water, leaving more drinkable water for the animals and everyone else in the city. So, it is one more project that is at the core of the zoo’s mission, which is to be sustainable and to be a good steward of public spaces and public environment and public assets.”
Arias says he hopes the new additions will make the area enjoyable for visitors and everyone living in the community.
“Roeding Park includes Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Storyland, and Playland, three regional attractions that attract people from across the area to come here. But it’s also the largest neighborhood park in this region, so we also want to make sure we continue to accommodate the neighbors who want to use the park for the weekend picnic while accommodating the growth,” he said.
Jon Forrest Dohlin is the CEO and Zoo Director of Fresno Chaffee Zoo. He explained the addition of a new garage would make parking more accessible for Central Valley families.
“Anybody who’s been to the zoo or been to Roding Park on a day when the zoo is busy knows parking is a real problem here. It’s something that really constrains our ability to get people into the park in a great way,” he said.
He believes adding more parking means more families may get the opportunity to visit the Zoo.
“We really are the Central Valley’s zoo. We see many of our visitors coming from more than 100 miles away in either direction,” Dohlin said. “To build these kinds of structures, to contemplate these kinds of projects that make the zoo ever more convenient, ever more accessible, and ever more inclusive to our diverse audiences throughout the valley, is something that we take very seriously and means that everybody’s going to have a great time when they come to visit.”
Fresno City Council is set to hear the proposal on Aug. 29., but Arias says construction on the new garage is still at least a year away.
“If the council approves the agreement on Thursday, then that will begin a negotiation process that would last about three to six months with the development of a project ready for construction. That project won’t be ready to commence construction for at least a year because it takes about a year to complete all the environmental studies necessary to construct a project of this size and magnitude,” Arias said.