Sky’s the limit for downtown zip lining idea

I had a MONI a few weeks ago.

Middle Of Night Idea.

Are you sitting down?

A zip line in downtown Macon … from the top of Poplar Street at  City Hall gliding 1,525 feet to MLK Jr. Blvd., where the Macon Rescue Mission’s “JESUS CARES” sign once stood in giant block letters. 

(Not “JESUS SAVES” but “JESUS CARES.’’ And now, coming soon to a rooftop near you, perhaps “JESUS ZIPS.”)

The idea swooped into my dreams after a friend’s Facebook post about an “urban” zip line experience in Las Vegas. It is cleverly called “Slotzilla,” and it flies above Fremont Street. 

There are two options. You can “zip line” in a harness for two blocks 77 feet up in the air. Or you can  “zoom line” 114 feet above the ground for five blocks in a prone position like Superman. (Google it and admit it’s the coolest thing you’ve seen today.)

My MONI picked up speed after my church’s recent mission trip to Costa Rica. At the end of the work week, I went zip lining for the first time. I wish you could have seen me channeling my inner Clark Kent, soaring like a bird and a plane above the flora and fauna in the rainforest.

Last week, I sent Bryan Nichols a text message. “Will you be downtown tomorrow? I’ve got a crazy idea I want to run by you.”

Bryan has been known to have quite a few MONIs himself, so we are kindred spirits. He is co-owner of Taste & See coffee shop on Poplar. He is also part owner of Macon Rocks, a climbing gym, just a stone’s throw away on Cotton Avenue. 

Most folks know Bryan as the visionary behind  the Macon Christmas Light Extravaganza, which boasts more than 1 million twinkling lights stretching across almost six city blocks from the top of Poplar to MLK Jr. Blvd.during the holidays.

It has brought national attention to Macon and now rivals the Cherry Blossom Festival as the city’s top annual event. More than 685,000 people turned out to see the lights between November 29 and January 5, providing an economic impact of $7.1 million. Clark Griswold, eat your heart out.

Have you seen some of the extraordinary drone shots of all that yuletide glow? Imagine a zip line right down the middle of it. You could have your very own pigeon’s-eye view.

I wasn’t surprised when Bryan told me he had pitched the idea of a zip line when he made his first
proposal to host the light show back in 2017.  

Although it didn’t meet any resistance from the powers that be, he lacked the financial muscle to
proceed with it. The idea never got off the ground, so to speak.

There was also a wait-and-see attitude on how it was all going to turn out. In the beginning, no one could have imagined the extravaganza would grow on a scale that would be featured on ABC national news.

Bryan always has a wish list. He has tossed around the idea of adding a children’s train and an outdoor ice skating rink. A German market is already planned for early December, covering a block at the end of Poplar.

Now might be a good time to revisit the zip line idea. It may be too late to pull it together for this year, but 2026 would be a worthy target date. Perhaps it could be ready for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Better a soft opening than a hard landing.

I figured Bryan would be pumped after I showed him a YouTube video of the Slotzilla in Las Vegas. But he was way out in front of me. He had already ridden it not long after it opened in 2014, and it was among the inspirations for his original zip line proposal.

He still keeps some of the blueprints in his head, including how high it would need to be to clear the pavilion roofs in the Poplar medians. The elm trees planted to the outside would form almost a perfect pathway through the lights. The large trees in the middle of the street at Third and Poplar could be pruned to form an opening.

There are no power lines to contend with, and as far as any other liabilities, the cross traffic at Second and Third streets would be blocked off to prevent having to ride above moving vehicles.

The launch tower could be located in the Poplar median adjacent to Just Tap’d and below City Hall and Rosa Parks Square, now under construction.  There is already a concrete pad where the monument to the “Women of the Confederacy” was located before it was moved in 2020.

The tower could be designed so that it would be locked and sealed off so that nobody could trespass to climb it or try to scale its walls. Part of it could be used as an observation deck, where people could take selfies and family Christmas card photos with the light display as a backdrop. I can only imagine how many marriage proposals would take place up there, too.

From the Poplar hill, gravity would carry you 500 feet to the  corner of Second and Poplar, across from the colorful “Macon” sign. There is another 800 feet to the shed where the Poplar Street Farmer’s Market are held and 225 feet beyond that to the base of the Poplar. Golf carts could be used to shuttle people back up the hill.

The zip line ride would need to be affordable and offer slower speed options for children and senior citizens. It would not be feasible to keep it open and staffed year-round. It would practically pay for itself during the holidays, but could be made available for big events like the Cherry Blossom Festival, Bragg Jam and the Macon Beer Festival. It could be rented out for private parties and school field trips. I doubt people would want to ride the “Hot Line” on a summer afternoon, but Macon has one of the most enviable climates anywhere in the spring and fall. 

I will  admit my “zip-a-dee-doo-dah” idea has not been confined to Poplar. My thoughts have wandered over to Cherry and Mulberry, too. We could capitalize on the city’s rich musical heritage with zip line attractions nicknamed “Zipping on the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding),  “Scooty Frutti” (Little Richard) and “Zipping Post” (The Allman Brothers Band).

Since Coleman Hill was once believed to be on ancient shores, Mulberry Street could boast the “Fall Line.’’ Or since two historic churches, First Presbyterian and Mulberry Methodist, will celebrate their bicentennials next year, it could be known as the “Holy Rail.’’

The zip line along the narrow corridor of Cherry Street could carry the name “Airy Cherry.’’ An
extended line called the “Man of Steel” could arrive at the Terminal Station, where scenes from the
recent Superman movie were filmed.

And we would need to take advantage of the river. There’s already a series of zip lines across the Chattahoochee River between Columbus and Phenix City. We could use that as a model. It’s the only dual zip line in the Unioted States connecting two states.

Last summer, my wife and I ate lunch at a riverfront restaurant at Branson Landing in Missouri and watched folks zip line  across Lake Taneycomo.

With a system of zip lines, we would have our own cable network. (OK, you can groan.)

Before my MONI gets too carried away, let’s circle back. I’m convinced a zip line would make Poplar even more popular during the holiday season. 

Let’s hear it for “The Zip Light.”

Build it, make it non-obtrusive and first-class.

The sky’s the limit.