Duck Boat Rides To Resume In March, But On Schuylkill
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Duck boat rides will resume in Philadelphia next spring. However, the in-water portion of the popular tourist attraction will be on the Schuylkill River, not the Delaware.
The amphibious tour rides were suspended after a deadly collision July 7th in the Delaware River (see related story), in which two Hungarian visitors were killed.
Tour operator company "Ride The Ducks" and the City of Philadelphia made the announcement on Friday. Richard Negrin is the managing director for the city:
"As we sat down and thought about what the best possible options are, I think there was a way to figure out to get back on the Delaware. But I think this is really a matter of preference -- what is best not just for the citizens of Philadelphia but what is best for Ride the Ducks. It's a better route."
A spokesman for Ride the Ducks says there is a lot to get done between now and March, when rides resume, including conducting environmental tests.
The planned route will encompass sites in Old City, Center City and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The duck boat will enter the Schuylkill below the Water Works dam, keeping them out of the way of rowers along Boat House Row.
Reported by John McDevitt, KYW Newsradio.
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