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They sound like an accessibility nightmare. Imagine an old person or someone with movement issues not quite making the transition between the slower and high-s

They sound like an accessibility nightmare. Imagine an old person or someone with movement issues not quite making the transition between the slower and high-speed bands. They’d end up as sort of human bowling ball, knocking down other passengers like skittles. Similar thing happened to me on a crowded escalator at London Bridge tube station. Was about half way up when an old guy in front toppled back onto me. Thankfully I’d noticed he looked unsteady and managed to catch him under his armpits, otherwise we’d all have ended up in a heap at the bottom. I didn’t have the leverage to get him upright, so we stayed with me holding him until we reached the top. His shoes hit the metal plate at the end and I flipped him to his feet. We then gave each other a nod and went about our business.

baud147258 8y ago
In the subway tunnels beneath Montparnasse train station in Paris, there's a long stretch of corridor leading from the above-ground train station to the subway. Three moving sidewalk were installed, with one being higher speed, but they were forced to replace it with a normal-speed one, because of complaints and reliability issues. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_walkway#Trottoir_roulant_rapide_(TRR) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_walkway#Trottoir_roulan...
- adam-a 8y ago
  Very interesting. I found a video of an express walkway at a Toronto airport which is apparently still in use. It looks quite complex with foot plates which extend as the belt moves faster. I wonder what it's like to use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvfF4TeXz7U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvfF4TeXz7U
  - maz- 8y ago
    Used it last year. It's fun! You have to stand in the right spot though otherwise the plates extend under your feet which while I don't think it's dangerous, does feel a bit sketchy.
Tharkun 8y ago
> They sound like an accessibility nightmare. Much like an escalator, really. People with mobility issues can't use them. Many people are afraid of them. They're hard to use safely with children and/or a pram. I'm all for stairs for everyone who is able, and lifts for everyone who isn't.
dTal 8y ago
The Arthur C Clarke solution is "anisotropic matter" - walkways that are firm in the vertical direction but can flow in the horizontal axes, so that the same moving way can start slowly, accelerate to a high speed, and decelerate at the other end, all without any transitions. Although, if we're making arguments about accessibility, I'm sure a more prosaic solution could be found that was no less accessible than just walking normally. But in any case, the usual approach is to have a scalable system for the 99% case, and then to provide an alternative that doesn't scale for the 1% who can't use the scalable solution - chairlifts etc.

baud147258 8y ago

In the subway tunnels beneath Montparnasse train station in Paris, there's a long stretch of corridor leading from the above-ground train station to the subway. Three moving sidewalk were installed, with one being higher speed, but they were forced to replace it with a normal-speed one, because of complaints and reliability issues. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_walkway#Trottoir_roulant_rapide_(TRR) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_walkway#Trottoir_roulan...

adam-a 8y ago
Very interesting. I found a video of an express walkway at a Toronto airport which is apparently still in use. It looks quite complex with foot plates which extend as the belt moves faster. I wonder what it's like to use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvfF4TeXz7U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvfF4TeXz7U
- maz- 8y ago
  Used it last year. It's fun! You have to stand in the right spot though otherwise the plates extend under your feet which while I don't think it's dangerous, does feel a bit sketchy.

Tharkun 8y ago

> They sound like an accessibility nightmare. Much like an escalator, really. People with mobility issues can't use them. Many people are afraid of them. They're hard to use safely with children and/or a pram. I'm all for stairs for everyone who is able, and lifts for everyone who isn't.

dTal 8y ago

The Arthur C Clarke solution is "anisotropic matter" - walkways that are firm in the vertical direction but can flow in the horizontal axes, so that the same moving way can start slowly, accelerate to a high speed, and decelerate at the other end, all without any transitions. Although, if we're making arguments about accessibility, I'm sure a more prosaic solution could be found that was no less accessible than just walking normally. But in any case, the usual approach is to have a scalable system for the 99% case, and then to provide an alternative that doesn't scale for the 1% who can't use the scalable solution - chairlifts etc.