CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. -- Additional parking for users of the Saunders-Monticello Trail and the other features of the Thomas Jefferson Parkway is now available in a 50-space lot located off Route 20.

Those using the new parking area can walk to the natural area via a pedestrian passageway that runs under Route 53 near its intersection with Route 20.

The opening of the new space will remedy overcrowded parking conditions in the small lot at the Kemper Park entrance to the parkway on Route 53. Parking had become an issue in recent years with the increased popularity of the Thomas Jefferson Parkway with joggers, walkers, cyclists, and other outdoors enthusiasts.

The new parking lot, located on a lightly wooded plot of land leased from the University of Virginia, is accessible to vehicles only from northbound Route 20 at a point just north of its intersection with Route 53.

The Thomas Jefferson Parkway was developed by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation to serve as a scenic entrance to Monticello and as an educational and recreational resource for visitors and local residents. The 179-acre linear park -- which includes Kemper Park, the Saunders-Monticello Trail, and Saunders Bridge -- is free and open to the public daily from sunrise to sunset.