An attraction for day-tripper and tourists, the zipline at Queen Elizabeth Park has drawn a steady stream of foot traffic to the 75-year-old park and a steady flow of revenue for the park board.
The zipline has made more than $250,000 since opening July 2, according to operator, Vancouver-based Greenheart International Development Corp. Based on a tiered revenue-sharing agreement, the park board stands to make a minimum $87,500, and if the zipline grosses more than $400,000 this summer, the park board pockets at least $160,000.
“It’s been busy every day,” said park board chairperson John Coupar. “There’s been a couple days when it was set aside for charity, and I think [recently] they had a record day, 450 people rode that day. It’s generally around 300 people a day. From what I hear, it’s pretty well steady all day long from start to finish. I think it exceeded our expectations for how busy it would be.”
Greenheart employed approximately 40 students to operate the zipline, said Coupar.
People lined up and waited 90 minutes to soar 20-metres above the quarry during the opening weekend, and approximately 18,000 people have ridden the zipline since. Adult tickets cost $20, youth under 17 ride for $14 and a family of four rides for $60.
The contract to operate the zipline did not go through a bidding process and was not open to other companies. Coupar said Greenheart was chosen because the zipline is temporary and the company already equipped.
“If anything gets done in the future, it will go out for tender,” said Coupar, noting Greenheart operated the tree-top canopy walk at UBC. “This was a test. They had the equipment already. They didn’t have to build it from scratch.”
The zipline will run until Sept. 30 and then on suitable sunny days in October, according to Greenheart communications staff.
Also in the fall, the park board will review the project in extensive consultations with the public.
The zipline could stay put at Queen Elizabeth Park, either at its current location or somewhere else, said Coupar.
“It’s possible if people really love it,” he said, “maybe there is an opportunity to move it to a different location in the park or maybe even another park. I thought the idea of maybe moving it around would be kind of neat, finding other locations in the city because obviously people want things to do, they want to have fun in Vancouver.”
Some regular visitors have voiced their disapproval, and the two Green Party park board commissioners voted against the project and argued the decision was too rushed.
CBC personality Grant Lawrence DIYed a T-shirt expressing his opposition. The telephone-wire aesthetic of the zipline, crowds on the ground and cheering from overhead are at odds with the contemplative and quiet atmosphere of the large quarry, also an ornamental garden with exotic plants from around the world.
For someone like Brian Ball, the zipline looks like fun but isn’t worth his money and its current location is a mistake.
“It definitely brings a different feeling to the garden,” he said. “It’s nice that people are using the park but there are a lot more people. It’s steady. I wouldn’t come here now to sit and relax.”
On the average day, Ball will spend about an hour in Queen Elizabeth Park. He comes throughout the year, every day and sometimes twice with his dog Ringo. He’ll leave his house a few blocks away to admire the colours that come with each season. Two years ago, he was married in the park.
A landscaper who started his own company 10 years ago while a business student at Capilano University, Ball isn’t opposed to the zip line and thinks QE Park, the highest point in Vancouver, is a suitable fit for taking in the view of the city’s bounty. But he believes the zipline should never have been strung over the quarry and its garden, a plot of land with unique plant species such as ginko, gunnera and Sango Kaku, a Japanese maple.
“It’s typically a peaceful, meditative kind of place. That’s why I come here,” he said. “If [the zipline] were to continue after September or if it started up in April, it would definitely infringe on the atmosphere here, big time. I don’t want to be a total grouch because people should have fun, but they could have put it somewhere else.
“There has got to be a different way to raise funds.”
The public can share feedback by calling the city information line at 3-1-1 or visiting the online survey.
