Completely random question about escalators...

[conuly]

And google is failing me. (Though I have, for the first time ever, read about spiral escalators - cool!)

Why isn't it possible (or is it possible) for escalators to be made sized to carry wheelchairs or baby carriages or suchlike?

Comments

[collectonian.livejournal.com]

It would appear that Japan has some escalators that can be used by people with wheelchairs. However, according to an article in Japan Railway & Transport Review: "an escalator can only carry a wheelchair if someone working at the station first stops the escalator, asks other passengers to climb the stairs, installs a special platform for the wheelchair, then operates the escalator with the wheelchair user on it." Rather interesting article: http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr20/F25_Kawauchi.html (view the PDF version to see the images. I wish they had taken a picture of the ramp itself.

[conuly]

Oooh, thanks.

[mayna.livejournal.com]

They would take a lot more space (think how much space it would take to build a wheelchair ramp up to a 2nd story). I've taken umbrella strollers on escalators before, and you have to lean them backwards at almost a 90 deg angle going up or down them. So you'd use up a TON of real estate to make the steps sized to fit a wheelchair. It's cheaper and easier to just have an elevator for wheelchairs.

[conuly]

Yeah, I know they'd have to be bigger, so they wouldn't be practical everywhere. But it seems they'd be safer in emergencies for people in wheelchairs than elevators! Maybe more stairlifts or ramps would help....

[leora.livejournal.com]

If the building is only two stories, which obviously isn't the case in many situations, an elevator may not be much more dangerous than an escalator. Obviously you can't get trapped on an escalator, but I think the primary danger with elevators and fires is that the fire will melt the wires and thus trigger the calling the elevator, so it will stop at any floor where there is fire, which kind of sucks for the people inside it. But that is if there are multiple floors.

And when there are multiple floors and a fire, I think generally the best safety thing is for someone to carry someone in a wheelchair out. There aren't great options, alas, and that probably is the best hope.

[ursamajor]

Well, there are shopping cart escalators in certain big-box stores now. But they're designed for one very specific uniform cart-shape. Strollers and wheelchairs come in zillions of different sizes and configurations, so any escalator design for those vehicles would have to take that into consideration. Plus, it's one thing to ensure that a shopping cart full of items doesn't fall down - it's entirely more dangerous when there's a *person* in that "vehicle." Elevators are much safer - it's a box that can hold any wheelchair or stroller, period.

[conuly]

That makes sense, thankies!

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

I know costco in brooklyn has that, and they need one person at top and oneat bottom (Ithink) to run it. At least one personfor sure. So that would make it more expensive. Plus kids haveto getout ifthey are sitting in it.

[davidkevin.livejournal.com]

It's possible, but there are horrendous liability issues if someone falls, or worse, falls and then gets shredded in the mechanism -- it's entirely possible that the insurance premiums for such an escalator would be prohibitively expensive.

Similarly, there wouldn't be a single nuclear power plant in this country if Congress hadn't passed a law specifically limiting the total amount of damage cost which could be assessed against one. Without that statutory limitation, no insurance company would cover them, period.

[polydad.livejournal.com]

Is possible. Just not economic; a department store or some such would require about five times as much space for an escalator that size than it would for both a conventional escalator for most people *and* an elevator for the exceptions.

best,

Joel

[conuly]

Thanks.

[(Anonymous)]

It would appear that Japan has some escalators that can be used by people with wheelchairs. However, according to an article in Japan Railway & Transport Review: "an escalator can only carry a wheelchair if someone working at the station first stops the escalator, asks other passengers to climb the stairs, installs a special platform for the wheelchair, then operates the escalator with the wheelchair user on it." Rather interesting article: http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr20/F25_Kawauchi.html (view the PDF version to see the images. I wish they had taken a picture of the ramp itself.

[conuly]

Oooh, thanks.

[mayna.livejournal.com]

They would take a lot more space (think how much space it would take to build a wheelchair ramp up to a 2nd story). I've taken umbrella strollers on escalators before, and you have to lean them backwards at almost a 90 deg angle going up or down them. So you'd use up a TON of real estate to make the steps sized to fit a wheelchair. It's cheaper and easier to just have an elevator for wheelchairs.

[conuly]

Yeah, I know they'd have to be bigger, so they wouldn't be practical everywhere. But it seems they'd be safer in emergencies for people in wheelchairs than elevators! Maybe more stairlifts or ramps would help....

[leora.livejournal.com]

If the building is only two stories, which obviously isn't the case in many situations, an elevator may not be much more dangerous than an escalator. Obviously you can't get trapped on an escalator, but I think the primary danger with elevators and fires is that the fire will melt the wires and thus trigger the calling the elevator, so it will stop at any floor where there is fire, which kind of sucks for the people inside it. But that is if there are multiple floors.

And when there are multiple floors and a fire, I think generally the best safety thing is for someone to carry someone in a wheelchair out. There aren't great options, alas, and that probably is the best hope.

[ursamajor]

Well, there are shopping cart escalators in certain big-box stores now. But they're designed for one very specific uniform cart-shape. Strollers and wheelchairs come in zillions of different sizes and configurations, so any escalator design for those vehicles would have to take that into consideration. Plus, it's one thing to ensure that a shopping cart full of items doesn't fall down - it's entirely more dangerous when there's a *person* in that "vehicle." Elevators are much safer - it's a box that can hold any wheelchair or stroller, period.

[conuly]

That makes sense, thankies!

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

I know costco in brooklyn has that, and they need one person at top and oneat bottom (Ithink) to run it. At least one personfor sure. So that would make it more expensive. Plus kids haveto getout ifthey are sitting in it.

[davidkevin.livejournal.com]

It's possible, but there are horrendous liability issues if someone falls, or worse, falls and then gets shredded in the mechanism -- it's entirely possible that the insurance premiums for such an escalator would be prohibitively expensive.

Similarly, there wouldn't be a single nuclear power plant in this country if Congress hadn't passed a law specifically limiting the total amount of damage cost which could be assessed against one. Without that statutory limitation, no insurance company would cover them, period.

[polydad.livejournal.com]

Is possible. Just not economic; a department store or some such would require about five times as much space for an escalator that size than it would for both a conventional escalator for most people *and* an elevator for the exceptions.

best,

Joel

[conuly]

Thanks.