City Hall gets a zip line (for a limited time)

toronto zip line What's high strung, a little dangerous, and flies across Nathan Phillips Square at 30 km/h? Points if the name of a city councillor came to mind, but I would have also accepted a temporary zip line strung between the towers of City Hall and Queen Street.

Every day until November 24, the day before the Grey Cup, visitors to City Hall can pay $20 to be strapped to a pulley and walked off the end of a metal gantry built over the roof of the clamshell, the circular building in the centre of the municipal complex. The pay off is a thrilling ride and a great view of Nathan Phillips Square.

toronto zip line The 130 feet tall ride is the tallest urban zip line in North America and was set up as part of the10-day 100th Grey Cup Festival. A street party and film festival at Yonge-Dundas Square theatres are also part of the program. The net proceeds from the zip line will go to the Argos' charitable foundations.

Once you've signed your life away with a waiver, the zip line staff buckle you into a harness, give you a helmet, and send you up a temporary metal tower. At the top, you're clipped into a pulley with a safety line in case, you know, something breaks. The most unnerving part is walking off the end of a set of stairs to get started. The last step is about 13 floors above the ground.

The ride itself is pretty brief (about 20 seconds) but you do get a chance to see the roof of the council chamber, an expansive view of Nathan Phillips Square, and a unique perspective of the buildings in the financial district. Oh, and watch out for the end - it's a little bumpy...

If you prefer to get your adrenaline fix from the comfort of home, here's a surprisingly expletive-free video of my trip down the wire taken from a helmet mounted camera: