Chippewa Park roller coaster deemed unsafe

A ride that's provided thrills and chills to thousands of Thunder Bay children for about 45 years is shutting down.

The city has decided to decommission the roller coaster at Chippewa Park.

Parks manager Paul Fayrick said it's because of safety concerns.

"We had had some testing done after the failure of one of the cars last year," Fayrick said. "And it confirmed the cars on the track are not repairable to a safe condition anymore."

Fayrick said the ride was bought from an amusement park in Manitoba in 1967.

"There areall sorts of issues recently with legislation around amusement rides that makes it actually very difficult to have rides of any kind," he said.

According to the web site of the Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada, the ride at Chippewa is the longest-running steel rollercoaster at the same location, anywhere in the country.

The city said it will look at replacing roller coaster with another kind of attraction.