Now that the city’s air quality is improving, Little Prince train rides are back on track.
The Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park staple has been sitting idle for the three weeks. The Exploration Place staff didn’t want to risk using its wood-fired engine during the recent dry conditions.
“The air quality has improved so much in Prince George and the park itself is watered and kept moist,” says Exploration Place CEO Tracy Calogheros, “we haven’t had any real issues in here and with a little bit of precipitation that we’ve had, it just seems that we’re safe to run,”
Closing the attraction during the height of the tourism season is bad for business. Calogheros calculates they’ve lost between $10,000 – $15,000 in passenger fairs. Some things, however, she says are more important than turning a profit.
“No amount of revenue would’ve made up for causing a fire in LTMP so we just weren’t prepared to run that risk and quite frankly, the public really understood. Once we explained why we were shut down, everybody supported this decision.”
The Little Prince reopens Thursday at noon, weather permitting. Train fees will go back to normal. The Exploration Place admission is still free to evacuees.