ALLEGHENY RIDGE SPECIAL PURPOSE STUDY
Blair, Cambria and Somerset Counties, PA
The Allegheny Ridge State Heritage Park is located in Blair, Cambria and Somerset counties and contains numerous natural and built resources — such as the Horseshoe Curve, the Portage Railroad, the Inclined Plane, the Johnstown Flood Museum and National Memorial, the Cambria Iron Works and the Allegheny Ridge itself — which document the region's rich industrial and cultural heritage.
Working with an interdisciplinary team, Urban Partners prepared a Management Action Plan for the Corporation and was responsible for estimating visitation to the Park and determining ticketing pricing policies for joint and individual Park attractions. Visitation at national and international attractions having similar industrial and historic themes — such as Colonial Williamsburg, the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, Lowell National Historic Park and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Great Britain — were examined to determine pricing policies and the geographic distribution of visitors at established comparable sites.
Based on these examples, an estimate of potential visitation from the surrounding day trip market and the more remote overnight stay market was made and a ticketing policy reflecting the price sensitivity of the region was established. Urban Partners also participated in the selection of development sites for the proposed Heritage Discovery Centers in Johnstown (completed center pictured left) and Altoona and created financing strategies for these and other Park development projects.
