LOCAL

By Nathan Toohey

Authorities are considering the return of the Ferris wheel to Gorky Park, although exactly what kind of wheel it will be has yet to be decided. "Previously, the park had two Ferris wheels, one was 45 meters high, the other 14 meters," said Gorky Park's director, Alexander Zotov. "They were decommissioned long ago, but we are now considering re-introducing this attraction."

Zotov said that the park was considering both imported and local options. "New Ferris wheels, which are offered by Western companies, stand about 180 meters high and are very expensive - in the order of 2 million to 8 million roubles," RIA Novosti reported Zotov as saying.

Zotov said that instead of a classical version of the attraction, local companies were offering a "wheel" that itself did not turn but rather had cabins that moved around it and could even have cafes installed inside them. He said that the local variety of wheel was a lot less expensive.

"However, I am all the same inclined to choose the standard Ferris wheel, as the manufacturer gives a guarantee on all its parts and if something breaks you can always order and acquire new ones. It's better for the park that we install a proven mechanism rather than a homemade one."

He added that the park had a lot of attractions, the operation of which should be inspected. "A lot of the attractions are old and may not meet technical safety standards."