A proposal which would allow a 1,000 foot-long water slide on East Washington Ave was denied a street use permit by the Street Use Staff Commission Wednesday due to conflict with city regulations.

Despite the setback, Slide The City event director Scott Ward said his organization will continue to search for a suitable location, either within Madison or in surrounding areas. Ward said while issues with host cities are not rare, Madison has been less than accommodating.

Slide The City, which has existed for a year, is run by the same group that hosts the Color Me Rad and the Dirty Dash, both historically successful events. Ward said the idea for the slide stemmed from a mudslide featured in their Dirty Dash event.

Slide The City would use the four blocks to house the giant slip-n-slide, concessions booths and DJ stand. According to the organization’s website, the slide itself circulates around 14,000 gallons a day using a pump system before the water is recycled back into the community.

“Madison is a progressive, super cool city,” Ward said.

He said this was part of the reason why Slide the City chose Madison to host the event. He also noted the University of Wisconsin as a factor in the decision as well as the huge success of their Color Me Rad event in Madison.

The event would be in violation of city regulation designed to allow access to emergency vehicles, Kelly Lamberty, city events and street use coordinator, said. Specifically, the regulation states all street events must allow a 20-foot wide path to allow access for emergency vehicles, she said.

However, the city does allow events such as Revelry and Freakfest to take place, despite being in violation with the regulation. Lamberty said these events are acceptable because apart from the stages, there are no solid obstacles in the road and the decision is ultimately up to the fire department to decide if the event can safely proceed.

“We didn’t do it so people couldn’t have fun,” Lamberty said.

She added that the organization is welcome to reapply for a different location.

With 7,000 Madisonians already registered for the event in advance, Ward said he is confident Madison wants the slide and expects the prospective event to sell out.