Utah City spends $400,000 on stainless-steel slides in the desert
Steak, seafood, salad, Sizzler.
“There’s always assumed risk there, so that’s not something that we’re overly concerned about.”
In an attempt to add some whimsy and apparently make city hall more inviting, St. George, Utah, is installing two four-story slides alongside its new parking garage. The logic seems clear to all who consider the giant stainless-steel slides baking in the Utah sun.
“We think they’re going to be a great community amenity that people of all ages can enjoy, and it’s public, so anybody can use it,” said David Cordero, a public information officer with the City of St. George. “My guess is nine months of the year, this is going to be hopping, and a lot of people are going to want to try it out.”
The city said the slides were expected to open at the end of July and would help bring people downtown to its renovated City Hall and plaza.
St. George gets hot. Very hot. Stainless steel, when placed in summer sun, does not usually become more inviting. The city says the slides will be mostly covered and that users can decide for themselves whether the slides are too hot. This is technically true in the same way that people can decide for themselves whether a frying pan is ready by touching it to their thigh.
I support civic whimsy. I support weird public infrastructure. I support cities doing things that make downtowns less dead. But $400,000 stainless-steel slides in a desert parking garage feels like the kind of idea that should have spent a little more time in the shade.
Nothing says civic renewal like second-degree branding.
If they provided burlap sack to ride on I'd be down for a try. Burlap sacks would also make the slides faster.
Stainless steel can get to 80°C (176°F) in the sun, or more.
Stainless steel, for a metal, is a comparatively poor conductor of heat; one source says: pure aluminum 235 W/(m⋅K), carbon steel 45 W/(m⋅K), and stainless steel 15 W/(m⋅K). That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t get hot, it would; the heat doesn’t carry along the metal well.
The top of the slide is in the shade, so would be close to air temperature; further down, not so much.