BY CHRISTINE WOLFF
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Zoo's board has approved the purchase of six lots on Jefferson Avenue, which will be used for much-needed parking spaces.
Money to cover the $1 million purchase price for the commercially zoned land will come from donations, according to zoo officials. The lots -- numbers 3234, 3242, 3244, 3246, 3249 and 3250 Jefferson Ave. -- will provide an additional 250 parking spaces.
Parking is a much-studied, long-standing problem for the land-locked Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens, at 3400 Vine St.
The site is surrounded by city streets bordered by residential and commercial development.
During big-draw events, such as the zoo's annual Festival of Lights in December, lines of cars waiting to park often back up to the Mitchell Avenue exit off Interstate 75.
In 1997, Hamilton County voters rejected a zoo levy asking for money to build a $20 million parking garage.
Zoo officials also recently purchased a $2.75-million piece of commercial property across from the zoo on Vine Street. It will provide about 360 parking spaces.
