La Ronde amusement park is very busy during the summer season, for events such as the Montreal fireworks, and during the fall season with thematic events such as Halloween. The site has been at capacity for several years and the wait time to enter the park exceeds the objectives set by La Ronde. Momentum was hired in partnership with the development firm BC2 to analyze the data collected by Six Flags La Ronde on the park’s visitor numbers and to propose recommendations to improve pedestrian flow at the site’s entrances.
As part of this study, Momentum developed a capacity analysis of the site’s entrances to identify barriers to the flow of pedestrian traffic. The team analyzed current and future site conditions by considering ridership and capacity of the entrances, the admission process and ticket types that are used to enter the park, and the modal shares of the trips to get to the site.
This information was then used in a dynamic pedestrian modeling exercise using the microsimulation software Legion, which simulates pedestrian movements and their distribution in space. Using this methodology, we identified the site facilities that needed to be improved and the conditions for success that would increase pedestrian capacity at the entrances.
