Council won’t be spinning their wheels this summer – although they’d like to be.
The Lower Lonsdale ferris wheel idea rolled a little closer to reality Monday but is still likely one year away, according to city staff.
While it’s “unfortunate” residents won’t be able to see the city from a pastel-coloured carriage in the air this summer, Coun. Linda Buchanan suggested a one-year delay was the best option.
“I think if we’re going to do this, we want to do it right,” she said.
The ticket to ride is an expensive one, with rentals ranging from $40,000 to $50,000 for a 12.8-metre-high wheel. That cost includes hiring an operator but not the marketing budget or the extra electricity it takes to keep the wheel turning.
While it could generate $3,000 a day, the ferris wheel would likely operate at a loss and need to be subsidized by the city “and/or sponsorships,” according to a staff report.
That sponsor could be the Lower Lonsdale Business Improvement Area, according to Buchanan, who said the organization is “quite keen to get involved.”
City staff considered paying $7,500 to book a ferris wheel for July 21 and 22, but given the nascent LLBIA appointed their first executive director in May, the organization: “is not yet in a position to lead such an event,” according to a staff report.
The four-storey-high wheel was also out of reach for city staff, who opted not to get things rolling themselves due to the short notice, potential complications caused by placing the wheel amid neighbouring construction projects, as well as the need to close streets and reroute buses.
The wheel would likely be too heavy for the Burrard Dry Dock Pier and too big for Shipbuilders Square, leaving the foot of Lonsdale Avenue as the ideal spot. That location would mean traffic south of Esplanade Avenue would need to take a detour, but it would also allow the city to highlight Lower Lonsdale restaurant patios that recently replaced street parking.
Rather than a fixture, the ferris wheel would likely accompany events like the Canada Day celebration or the Fun City Festival, according to staff, who decided the ride alone likely wouldn’t “generate enough interest or ridership.”
Council voted unanimously to approve a plan that aims to put the ferris wheel on the waterfront during the summer of 2018. A detailed budget is set to be included in the city’s 2018 financial plan.
During a prior discussion, Coun. Rod Clark suggested investigating a merry-go-round, which he touted as a “lateral affair as opposed to a vertical.”
While a merry-go-round is less expensive, it’s also not as lucrative as a ferris wheel, which can generate approximately $3,000 per day, according to the staff report.
Coun. Holly Back did not attend the meeting.
