Wallenda hopes to wirewalk across U.S. 41 on bayfront
Nik Wallenda, great grandson of Karl Wallenda, walks a cable between two buildings, some 200 feet high, in downtown Sarasota in 2010.
HERALD-TRIBUNE ARCHIVE / 2010 / THOMAS BENDER
from: heraldtribune.com
By Billy Cox
January 15, 2013
SARASOTA - Aerialist Nik Wallenda wants to wirewalk across U.S. 41 by the city's bayfront and deliver a “postcard from Sarasota that'll go all around the world.”
And as with last year's high-wire adventure at Niagara Falls, he offers reassurances for the squeamish.
“If they have any issues about stopping traffic, that's OK, they can keep it moving below, it won't bother me,” said the 33-year-old Sarasota native Tuesday.
Wallenda, whose white-knuckle walk from the U.S. to Canada over Horseshoe Falls enthralled global audiences in June, hopes to do the stunt over U.S. 41 by the end of the month, provided he gets cleared by the City of Sarasota and the state Department of Transportation.
If Wallenda gets the green light, he plans to wirewalk from a crane platform positioned near the “Unconditional Surrender” statue to the roof of the Marina Tower condo on the opposite side of U.S. 41, at 1233 N. Gulfstream Ave. The tentative date is Jan. 28 or Jan. 29.
“I love that spot,” said Wallenda of the vista from Marina Tower. “From there, you can see Bird Key, Longboat, St. Armands Circle, the beautiful water, Ringling Bridge — I want to show off this city.”
In addition to acquiring the city's formal approval, Wallenda will also need the Florida Department of Transportation to sign on. DOT spokesperson Debbie Tower said, “We do have the permit application, and if everything is in order, I think we'll move on it very, very soon.”
Nik Wallenda, great grandson of Karl Wallenda, walks a cable between two buildings, some 200 feet high, in downtown Sarasota in 2010.
HERALD-TRIBUNE ARCHIVE / 2010 / THOMAS BENDER
from: heraldtribune.com
By Billy Cox
January 15, 2013
SARASOTA - Aerialist Nik Wallenda wants to wirewalk across U.S. 41 by the city's bayfront and deliver a “postcard from Sarasota that'll go all around the world.”
And as with last year's high-wire adventure at Niagara Falls, he offers reassurances for the squeamish.
“If they have any issues about stopping traffic, that's OK, they can keep it moving below, it won't bother me,” said the 33-year-old Sarasota native Tuesday.
Wallenda, whose white-knuckle walk from the U.S. to Canada over Horseshoe Falls enthralled global audiences in June, hopes to do the stunt over U.S. 41 by the end of the month, provided he gets cleared by the City of Sarasota and the state Department of Transportation.
If Wallenda gets the green light, he plans to wirewalk from a crane platform positioned near the “Unconditional Surrender” statue to the roof of the Marina Tower condo on the opposite side of U.S. 41, at 1233 N. Gulfstream Ave. The tentative date is Jan. 28 or Jan. 29.
“I love that spot,” said Wallenda of the vista from Marina Tower. “From there, you can see Bird Key, Longboat, St. Armands Circle, the beautiful water, Ringling Bridge — I want to show off this city.”
In addition to acquiring the city's formal approval, Wallenda will also need the Florida Department of Transportation to sign on. DOT spokesperson Debbie Tower said, “We do have the permit application, and if everything is in order, I think we'll move on it very, very soon.”
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