Dennis RomeroIf you like seeing bikinis and board shorts after summer is over, this event might just be for you. Despite objections about using water for recreational activities during this historic drought, it looks like a one-day water-slide event in downtown Los Angeles is going to happen on Sunday, Sept. 28.
The office of downtown city Councilman Jose Huizar says it has worked out a deal that will make the Slide the City event amenable to critics. The councilman supports the slide, spokesman Rick Coca says, and expects that it will be approved by the Bureau of Street Services.
The City Council does not need to vote on the event for it to move forward:
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Street Services needs to green-light it, however, because it will shut down Temple Street between Broadway and Los Angeles Street. “Street Services is still reviewing the permit application,” a spokesman for the bureau told us.
It sounds like even the organizers of an online petition against the slide, which drew 10,631 digital endorsements, are now on-board. According to them:
This petition has been a partial success — the Slide the City owners have struck an agreement with Councilman Jose Huizar to transport the water used to Griffith Park, to replace a day's worth of watering the park would ordinarily do. Slide the City will also donate some profits to generosity.org, a nonprofit that builds wells in Third World countries where fresh water is scarce.
Credit: Slide the City
All that's true, says Huizar's office. About 15,000 gallons of water used during the slide event will be reclaimed and trucked over to Griffith Park to water grass and plants, spokesman Coca said: “This will allow the city conserve water.”
“It's a win-win situation,” he said.
Slide the City, which has held events elsewhere in the U.S., also has its eyes on San Diego and Orange County.
Despite lacking permits, organizers are already selling tickets for L.A.'s event: $15 will get you a single slide, $30 is good for three, and $50 VIPs will be allowed unlimited slides as well as VIP-only hours. Children must be at least 48-inches tall and have their parents' permission.
The magic happens from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Slide the City organizer T.R. Gourley told us to “cross your fingers” for good weather. But:
“Rain or shine,” he said, “we're sliding.”
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