The Highland Park Farmers Market, a bustling longtime market with dozens of vendors and thousands of customers, has gotten a temporary reprieve from relocation.

The market, which has operated in the lower parking lot of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium since 1980, has been asked by zoo officials to relocate because they are expecting increased demand for parking after their new polar bear exhibit opens.

Originally, the exhibit was supposed to open this summer, potentially forcing the Thursday evening market to relocate as early as July. Now, however, the exhibit isn't opening until fall and city officials have agreed to help control traffic in the short term, allowing the market to stay for a few more months, said Connie George, director of marketing and public relations for the zoo.

"We don't anticipate there's going to be a conflict through the month of August," she said.

City officials have said they are looking for a new location for the market by the time the polar bear exhibit opens. If not, they are committed to finding a new location for the market in time for next summer. Call 412-422-6523 for more information.

Potential future sites include Reservoir Drive; Mount Bigelow in the park; a parking lot on 50th Street, owned by the Rubinoff Co., or Lawrenceville's Arsenal Park, bounded by Penn Avenue and Butler Street, between 39th and 40th streets.

For many years, the Highland Park market was among the city's most popular and profitable markets; in 1998, the market grossed $2 million. Four years ago, however, revenue started dropping when increased traffic made it more difficult for customers to enter and exit the zoo's parking lot.