Plans for two new zip line attractions in the Canary Islands capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife look set to move forward after the local Urban Planning Department issued a favorable feasibility report earlier this month. An unnamed recreation company applied for the licenses to install the two attractions: one in municipal park Las Mesas, and the other at a public beach, Las Teresitas.
The Las Mesas installation will be a two-line zip. The first line will be 3,100 feet long with a 750-foot vertical drop. The second line will travel 1,880 feet, with a 265-foot drop. Riders will purportedly reach a top speed of 60 miles per hour. Expected throughput is 45 people per hour.
The Las Teresitas installation will have parallel zip lines that travel 3,000 feet from a viewpoint above the beach, with a 400-foot vertical drop. Top speed is expected to reach 50 miles per hour, and planned throughput is 35 people per line, per hour.
The departure platforms and landing platforms for the attractions will be easily accessible from existing paths and built directly into the ground with concrete plinth and corten-coated steel pillar foundations, according to the report. As such, the planning department has determined that the attractions will have a minimal impact on the surrounding environment and leave little trace if later dismantled.
The councilor for urban planning, Carlos Tarife, suggested the zip lines would diversify the city’s tourist attractions. “It is a different type of tourism from the one that has been practiced in the city, in which we have a lot of tourism linked to cruise ships, also to businesses and fairs, so, without a doubt, these types of projects are a further boost to the sector,” he told a local news outlet.
