An explicit study on walking speeds of pedestrians on stairs

Abstract

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. The obtained data to be used in our pedestrian simulation model take account of personal characteristics as well as stair characteristics when predicting the walking speed of a pedestrian.