Reid Park path extension to be completed in fall

Posted on July 28th, 2010 by

Construction on a 1.5-mile addition to the Reid Park multi-use path is behind schedule, but should be completed this fall.

Tucson Parks and Recreation planner Julie Parizek said the path was scheduled to be finished at the end of August, but the contractor is running behind.

The path will connect to the existing path that wraps around Randolph Golf Course. The addition starts at Randolph Way and 22nd Street. It will run parallel to 22nd Street, then north along Country Club and then west east on Camino Campestre where it will reconnect with the existing path at Hi Corbett.

Parizek said the price tag for the extension is $2 million and is made up of Regional Transportation Authority and impact fee money.

According to Parizek, the extension will primarily be recreational for the time being, but is part of a plan to create urban paths along the city’s washes.

“It is also, however, part of a larger plan to create the Arroyo Chico Urban greenway which is going to connect Reid Park to Downtown,” Parizek said. “It is starting off as an offshoot of the existing bike path more for recreational purposes, but overtime, segment by segment we are going to be installing this more regional trail system.”

Parizek said finding the funding for projects is a challenge, but some portions are starting to be built.

“Piece by piece, we are making progress,” Parizek said.

Check out a video of a paved portion of the bike path:

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Post a comment below or discuss in the Tucson Velo forums
Posted on July 28th, 2010 by
  • Big Clyde

    Cool. How long is the total path?

  • Justin Adler

    This is great if only because it allows me to feel like I'm biking in Tucson while eating lunch at my desk in New York. Thank you.

  • Diane

    I think you mean it heads east on Camino Campestre

  • Red Star

    “It is also, however, part of a larger plan to create the Arroyo Chico Urban greenway which is going to connect Reid Park to Downtown,” Parizek said. “It is starting off as an offshoot of the existing bike path more for recreational purposes, but overtime, segment by segment we are going to be installing this more regional trail system.”

    Parizek said finding the funding for projects is a challenge, but some portions are starting to be built.

    “Piece by piece, we are making progress,” Parizek said.

    Red Star isn't understanding who or what is on the controls in regard to “Arroyo Chico Urban greenway ” Julie, Tom, PAG, BAC, COT, what?

    (this is the first Red Star has heard of “a larger plan to create the Arroyo Chico Urban greenway”)

  • tucsonvelo

    Diane, thanks for catching that. I changed it.

  • tucsonvelo

    Red Star, Parizek is in charge of the Greenways. They are more like a Rillito Path rather than a bike route.

    I believe Tom will have input, much like Matt Zoll has input with projects along the Rillito, but they are both Park and Recreation projects and not road projects.

    I asked Parizek to send me all the info (PDFs mostly) about the urban greenways she has planned.

    When I get that, I'll try to elaborate a little more.

  • Red Star

    Thanks! A formal organization chart would help. More so, a graphic that shows the political and career silos and funding involved. How would such Old Pueblo charts compare with those in Portland?

  • Coghauler

    It was an off-list project that got
    rammed through by special interests.

  • Alyssa Baz

    I cannot believe they are spending 2 million dollars on this project and yet have neglected to link the trail up with the crosswalk at Eastland and Country Club. This crosswalk is used frequently, especially during park events, and does not have an on demand light. It connects to the sidewalk around the park, but forces pedestrians to walk into the park in the traffic lane that exits the park. The new trail does not provide ADA accessibility or stroller connectivity to the crosswalk. It seems like this addition to the park would have been the perfect opportunity to remedy this dangerous situation. Instead the design team really dropped the ball in evaluating some basic functional needs. I am disappointed.

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