MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After years of anticipation, Tom Lee park finally opened over the Labor Day holiday weekend.
Many Memphians were excited to finally see their tax dollars at work, even though their journey to the park took a little longer than expected.
“We’re definitely coming back, for sure, absolutely, especially as the weather gets cooler,” park visitor Adrianne Arrindell said.
“The cool water fizz — she was happy," Brie Wallace said of her daughter. "She had a big smile on her face, didn’t you bubs?”
Visitor Jane Joyce said she loved the new ropes course.
“I think it’s been good,” Joyce said.
Still, for several people, one issue stuck out.
“I definitely think parking is going to be a problem,” Wallace said.
While 2,000 parking spots at eight locations exist within a couple blocks of the park, those spots proved to fill up quickly.
“We made our own parking spot, which was fine but I’m not sure it would work most of the time,” Arrindell said, ”But it was fine, close enough.”
Previous plans for the park’s renovations showed additional parking spaces along Riverside Drive, and Memphians were hoping to utilize them. Still, the road remained closed during the opening weekend.
Such spaces were something Desiree Claxton was hoping to take advantage of.
“If we can have some kind of parking lot designed for the park, it would be a little easier to get around,” Claxton said. “We had to park by the hotel and walked down the hill and fell down a little bit.”
Still, despite the hike, people were glad the wait mostly paid off.
“It’s nice to get a finished product, and it’s going to bring a lot of value to downtown,” Wallace said.
“It lets me know my tax dollars didn’t go to waste, so I really enjoy it, it’s something nice for the kids to do,” Claxton said.
ABC24 reached out to Memphis River Parks Partnership to see if any additional plans were in the works to add extra parking.
A spokesperson said additional parking spots on Riverside would require moving a traffic lane, which would require a decision by the City of Memphis Engineering Department.