Maggie Daley Park’s skating ribbon is trading blades for wheels this spring.
Next month, the downtown park will start renting rollerblades and unmotorized scooters to park visitors to circle the skating ribbon now that the ice has been removed from the concrete path. The ribbon will remain accessible to pedestrians.
Admission will be free, but there will be a rental fee for equipment.
It will cost $12 for rollerblades and $8 for scooters for half an hour beginning April 12through October. Users have to wear provided protective equipment including helmets, and rollerbladers also must wear elbow, knee and wrist guards. Bike riding is not allowed inside the park.
The rentals could generate additional revenue for the park, much like the ice skating ribbon and climbing wall have and a planned year-round restaurant is expected to do. Prices for skate rentals increased this year on weekends from $12 to $14 but remained at $12 other days of the week. The park, which opened in late 2014, drew nearly 93,000 ice skaters in the winter of 2015 and more than $862,000, according to the Chicago Park District. Ice skating revenue generated this winter was not available.
The park’s two climbing walls with 19,000 square feet of climbing surface for beginners and advanced climbers also will open April 12.
The pricing for the climbing wall listed on the park’s website is unchanged from last season. First-time climbers need to get certified. Climbing certification for top rope climbing, which involves the climber wearing a harness, costs $19 and lasts 45 to 60 minutes plus unlimited climb time. Certification for bouldering, which is climbing without a rope or harness, costs $10 and lasts about 15 minutes plus unlimited climb time. The prices include helmet and shoe rental. Once a person is certified, the daily climbing fee is $7. Equipment including a helmet, harness and shoes can be rented for $15.
In 2015, the climbing wall saw about 13,000 climbers, bringing in more than $444,000, the Park District has said.
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