Walk Daredevil Alley

Go ahead, take a walk through a downtown alleyway at night. The downtown Business Improvement Area isn’t just daring you to, they’re encouraging it.

That’s because they are almost set to officially unveil Daredevil Alley, a walkway on the south side of Queen St. between Ontario Ave. and St. Clair Ave. that features a wall- mounted display of historic facts on some of the more outrageous feats accomplished in Niagara Falls.

The display features 10-foothigh panels portraying 17 daredevils, LED lighting and an arched entrance sign. The project cost the BIA $15,000.

“We decided to use up some of the space on the street as there are a lot of empty alleyways,” said BIA general manager Nemanja Kuntos.

There’s still more work to be done, such as painting a tightrope onto the walkway’s asphalt, painting the side of the Queen St. Village Apartments and adding a sponsorship panel. The public can see the display now, but an official unveiling is planned for May.

Kuntos said the idea is to add more alleyway attractions in coming years, but this year’s budget was used solely for Daredevil Alley.

He said the investment will act as a tourist draw and attract more residents to the area.

“We need to make it as attractive as possible to get the interest back into the street,” he said. “We want people to stick around the downtown area and need to fill up as many buildings as we can.”

Daredevil Alley features a dozen panels sticking out from the wall and a cutout life-size barrel for people to stand beside for photos. On every other panel are plaques recognizing the Niagara Falls- based stunts performed by people such as Blondin, Maria Spelterini and Jesse Sharp.

“We thought because of the Wallenda walk last year it would be neat to have a tribute to daredevils,” said Kuntos. “Tourists hear about Wallenda and they think he’s the only person that’s ever done anything crossing over the falls.”

At night, the alley is lit to illuminate the display, but also serves another purpose.

“It makes it safer for people to walk through at night,” said Kuntos.

The BIA installed security cameras in the alley to deter vandalism and make pedestrians feel safer.

MIKE DIBATTISTA Niagara Falls BIA general manager Nemanja Kuntos says the new daredevil alley set up on Queen St. is another good addition to the street and hopes things like this will attract more people to the area.