Boardwalk project rising high
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is aiming high with its $12 million improvement project – so high it will need a special permit.
Two of the proposed new rides, Shockwave and Typhoon, would exceed the city’s 40-foot height limit on amusement park rides by 20 to 25 feet. Several existing rides like the Giant Dipper and Sky Glider stand well above that limit, but were built before zoning requirements were put in place.
Park officials now have to convince the city to give them a special permit.
“We have Double Shot, which is 125 feet. Neither of these are even half as tall as Double Shot,” said Boardwalk spokesperson Kris Reyes. “The two rides are going to add a ton of wow factor to the project. One of them is going to go upside down. It’s called the Typhoon.”
Both the Typhoon and Shockwave would be built on the expanded top deck, next to Undertow.
The city’s planning commission says the project’s visual impact will be one of its main concerns.
“The proposed rides are consistent with the existing rides and structures out at the Boardwalk,” said Eric Marlatt, principal planner for the City of Santa Cruz. “There won’t be a substantial change in the visual skyline and therefore, we are recommending approval of the application.”
Other park upgrades include expanding the entrance and new versions of the Lazer Maze and Fright Walk, which will move to a new location under the Boardwalk.
“I was born and raised here, raised my children at the Boardwalk, and they have a lot to offer,” said longtime Santa Cruz resident Susan Smith. “And if they can have a larger variety of rides, I think that’s great.”
The Boardwalk has more than 30 rides. Although preserving the classics is important, so too is evolving with a new generation of extreme rides.
“In the amusement park business, you have to always have new stuff – new offerings for your guests to keep them coming back,” said Reyes. “And these are the kind of rides that are going to ensure our guests keep coming in the future.”
The planning commission will meet Thursday night when they will either approve or reject a special permit for the park. If the Boardwalk gets the green light, both rides are expected to be complete by summer of 2017.
