Canada OKs Niagara Falls tightrope walk

NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Canadian officials Wednesday approved U.S. professional daredevil Nik Wallenda's request to cross the base of Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

The Niagara Parks Commission decision is a reversal from last December when they denied the request, saying it would create a dangerous precedent and lead to copycat attempts.

However, Wallenda spent months lobbying members of the Ontario provincial government and the mayor of Niagara Falls, Ontario, The Buffalo (N.Y.) News reported.

Last year, on the U.S. side of the border, local and state officials, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, endorsed the plan.

Wallenda, 32, a seventh generation member of the "Flying Wallenda" family of acrobats and aerial daredevils, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. a date hasn't been set.

"It will probably be towards the end of this summer -- probably September, is what we're thinking," Wallenda said.

His plans involve using a helicopter to string a 2-inch thick, 1,800-foot steel cable from the Canadian side to Goat Island, which divides the two falls on the U.S. side.