Controversial climbing wall remains a topic of conversation in metro Atlanta community

The climbing wall at College Park’s Tracey Wyatt Recreation Center could remain in place.

Councilman Roderick Gay said during Wednesday’s public meeting that he would like to change his vote to investigate its removal.

“Actually, cancel my vote on the wall,” Gay said.

It was a week after he participated in the unanimous vote to spend $60,000 to investigate the removal and moving of the wall to a new location. City council and city leaders have yet to respond to numerous emails and phone calls asking why the rock wall should be demolished.

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“I work too hard to have my tax money used in such a stupid way,” said Mose James, IV.

His son has been using the wall since 2021 and he has been following the council’s comments on the wall since Councilor Tracie Arnold asked how much it would cost to remove it in an email sent in April this year.

Arnold did not respond to inquiries about why she made this request, but she did send it to Kai Lightner and his team.

Lightner is a professional climber who runs a nonprofit called Climbing for Change. He and another nonprofit called 1Climb got $100,000 from Adidas to build the wall in College Park to expand access to the sport.

Lightner said he chose College Park because he had childhood ties to the city. He said the Tracey Wyatt Leisure Center had enough space and height to handle it.

Lightner said removing and moving the wall could cost $100,000 or more.

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“Not a single safety issue has ever been reported on this wall,” Lightner said. “Everything is in tip-top shape and we intentionally partnered with Stone Summit, the local gym, because they treat that facility as a partner location.

Lightner said Stone Summit maintains the wall, modifies the routes to keep them interesting and teaches recreation center staff how the harnesses work.

There are no certification requirements because the wall uses self-belay technology to prevent the climber from falling too fast or too hard.

On Saturday, Lightner responded to Councilmember Gay’s wish to change his vote.

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“I just appreciate the fact that Councilman Gay had the courage to speak out about the situation,” Lightner said.

On Saturday, Council Member Gay told Channel 2 Action News reporter Courtney Francisco that he would present a proposal at the next meeting to reexamine the investigation.

“I didn’t think it was that controversial,” Gay said. “The rock wall probably won’t be taken down as I will change my vote at the next council meeting.”

The next meeting is scheduled for Monday June 3.

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