An explicit study on walking speeds of pedestrians on stairs

23-26 May, 200

Pedestrian speeds on stairs: an initial step for a simulation model

In order to predict a pedestrian’s walking speed on stairs from his/her characteristics of and those of the stairs, the relationship between the walking speed of a pedestrian on stairs and his/her characteristics, and the relationship between the pedestrians’ walking speeds on stairs and the stair-gradients were investigated. It is suggested that Leg Extensor Power shows a strong correlation to walking speeds of elderly people on stairs, the stair-gradient has a linear relationship with horizontal walking speeds on stairs, and Leg Extensor Power could be used to represent a unique walking speed of an elderly pedestrian on stairs

How do elderly pedestrians perceive hazards in the street? - An initial investigation towards development of a pedestrian simulation that incorporates reaction of various pedestrians to environments

In order to evaluate the accessibility of street and transport environments, such as railway stations, we are now developing a pedestrian simulation that incorporates elderly and disable pedestrians and their interaction with various environments including hazards on the street. For this development, it is necessary to understand how elderly and disabled pedestrians perceive hazards in the street and transport environments. Many elderly people suffer from some visual impairment. A study in the UK suggested 12% of people aged 65 or over have binocular acuity of 6/18 or less (Van der Pols et al, 2000). It should be noted that a quarter of the UK population will be aged 65 or over by 2031 (The Government Actuary's Department, 2004). Because of age-related changes of visual perception organs, elderly people suffer not only visual acuity problems but also other forms of visual disabilities, such as visual field loss and less contrast sensitivity. Lighting is considered to be an effective solution to let elderly and disable pedestrians perceive possible hazards in the street. Interestingly, British Standards for residential street lighting have not considered lighting needs of elderly pedestrians or pedestrians with visual disabilities (e.g. Fujiyama et al, 2005). In order to design street lighting that incorporates elderly and visually disabled pedestrians, it would be useful to understand how lighting improves the perception of hazards by elderly and disable pedestrians. The aim of this paper is to understand how elderly pedestrians perceive different hazards and to address issues to be investigated in future research. This paper focuses on fixation patterns of elderly pedestrians on different hazards in the street under different lighting conditions. Analysing fixation patterns helps us understand how pedestrians perceive environments or hazards (Fujiyama, 2006). This paper presents the initial results of our analysis of the eye tracker data of an ordinary elderly participant

Investigation of Lighting Levels for Pedestrians - Some questions about lighting levels of current lighting standards

22-23 September, 200

Free walking speeds on stairs: Effects of stair gradients and obesity of pedestrians

Effects of stair gradients and obesity on walking speeds on stairs were empirically investigated. The participants included a group of elderly people (n=18) and a group of young people (n=15). They were asked to ascend/descend four staircases with different gradients, as well as to walk on a flat surface, at both normal and fast speeds. The study found the effects of stair gradients. When walking speeds on stairs are estimated, the gradient should be taken into account. In contrast, the study found no effect of overweight (or moderate obesity) on speeds

Evaluating delivery of cycling activity and training programmes for disabled people in the UK

Globally, a 15% of the population has some form of disability [1]. While cycling is becoming a popular transport mode, it is crucial to accommodate disabled cyclists, and key for this would be appropriate cycling training for the disabled and those who are involved in the training. This study investigated the delivery of cycling activity and training sessions for disabled people in the UK. The study focused on 1) the delivery systems, in particular the methods, supporting materials, instructor training, and 2) the perceptions of participants, parents/carers, and instructors. It involved semi-structured interviews with promotors and training/activity providers, and a questionnaire survey for instructors, people with disabilities and their carers. It was found that most participants come to training/activity sessions on voluntary basis for physical exercise and socialising. As a result, sessions are often unstructured and designed as ‘activity’ rather than ‘training’. Looking forward it is recommended to, whilst continuing to accommodate the need for flexibility and inclusiveness, introduce a top-down approach designed specifically for disabled participants and initiated by policy-makers, with potential for disability-specific structured sessions in the course of time. The importance of raising awareness among disabled people and their parents and carers is instrumental, as is accessible provision of educational resources for instructors

Predicting the walking speed of pedestrians on stairs

In this paper, we propose a framework in which the behaviour of a pedestrian is predicted based on the characteristics of both the pedestrian and the facility the pedestrian uses. As an example of its application, we develop a model to predict the walking speed of a pedestrian on stairs. We examine the physiology and biomechanics of walking on stairs, and then develop a model that predicts walking speed based on the weight and leg extensor power of the pedestrian, and the gradient of the stairs. The model was calibrated by experiment and validated by observations. The proposed framework establishes the importance of bridging the two types of characteristics: those of a pedestrian and those of the facility the pedestrian uses. Also, the developed walking speed model is useful for simulating how the design of stairs affects pedestrian circulation

Evaluation of an online youth ambassador program to promote mental health

To evaluate an online Youth Ambassador (YA) program designed to promote internet resources for mental health in an adolescent population, 56 YAs and 357 of their Year 10 peers from 11 Tasmanian schools completed e-mental health questionnaires before and after the YAs attended a single workshop session. The workshops, which were delivered in the high school setting, were either facilitated or self-directed. Self-reported awareness of e-mental health resources increased among both YAs and their peers. The peer group also showed increased frequency of recommending help-seeking to others. There were no differences in outcomes for facilitated or self-directed workshop formats. The results suggest that an online YA program delivered in school is useful in improving mental health awareness for workshop participants. While their Year 10 peer groups also showed increased awareness, this could not necessarily be attributed to the participation of all 11 schools in the YA program