A new parking garage will open at the Essex County South Mountain Recreation Complex in West Orange today. The garage will have parking space for 500 cars, and was built on the site of a parking lot next to the Turtle Back Zoo entrance. The complex is home to the zoo, the Essex County Treetop Adventure Course, the Orange Reservoir, and the Codey Arena. The Essex County Park N Ride, another parking garage at the complex, often filled to capacity while the new garage was under construction, causing visitors to be directed to overflow parking at Mcloone's Boathouse or a field off of Cherry Lane. Shuttle bus service was provided between these parking areas and the zoo.
Officials broke ground on the new garage in July, 2014.
“This is another quality of life facility that will make residents and visitors who come here happy", said West Orange Councilman Jerry Guarino at the time.
The facility is also served by New Jersey Transit Bus 73 from Newark and Coach USA Bus 77 from New York, which are used by many visitors.
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