After a highly charged meeting at the Fauntleroy Community Association on July 11, Seattle Parks and Recreation has withdrawn their proposal to build a zipline and ropes course in West Seattle's Lincoln Park.

“We listened to the community, and though there is demand for this emerging form of recreation, there are some who clearly do not support it at this location,” said Acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams.

According to a parks press release,"Low and high ropes courses are gaining in popularity worldwide, and they are among a number of emerging sports and other outdoor activities Parks and Recreation is working hard to accommodate.

The proposal for Lincoln Park was in the conceptual stages. Parks had just begun its public outreach process with contacts with the Camp Long Advisory Council, the Morgan Community Association, and the informal Friends of Lincoln Park, and had developed a full public involvement plan that included four more opportunities for input, one onsite. Parks had issued an Expression of Interest and had selected Go Ape based on their safety, park stewardship and operational history."

Williams made the decision not to proceed with a high ropes course at Lincoln Park. Williams and Go Ape left open the possibility to proceed with a ropes course proposal at another site.

For their part, GoApe responded today with this:

"Go Ape is disappointed we did not have the opportunity to share with the West Seattle community our proposal for a high ropes course at Lincoln Park during last night's Fauntleroy Community Association meeting. We remain proud of Go Ape's track record with regard to environmental sustainability, park stewardship and community benefits our programs provide. Throughout our years of working with park organizations across the country, we have found Seattle Parks and Recreation to be a professional and outstanding department."

Best regards,
Dan D'Agostino
USA Managing Director