Walk this way
Published: 28 October, 2010
Moving walkways are becoming increasingly important in shopping centres as multi-level development becomes the norm. But the open-air installation in the 5Rise development in Bingley presented new challanges for the manufacturer Stannah.
The £5m 5Rise complex, opened in December 2009, is part of a master plan to revitalise the Airedale towns of Keighley, Bingley and Shipley. Comprising 59,500 sq ft of new and refurbished retail space across 18 individual shop units, the plan focuses on the core of the town and aims to provide a much-improved environment for residents and visitors alike. The vision centres on three elements: development, transport and environmental projects.
The original Myrtle Walk shopping centre was earmarked for demolition and total redevelopment but the developer, 4Urban, managed to regenerate most of the existing buildings, while adding some new build for the new food store and also relocating the library to a state-of-the art facility within the scheme.
The result is the new shopping centre and library that will act as a catalyst for the next phases of the redevelopment of Bingley town centre.
Permeability is a buzzword for planners today, and key to the scheme was the creation of a chain of pedestrian walkways to link all facilities in the town centre. But the 5Rise site included a difficult and uninviting flight of steps leading to the south car park that was impassable to shopping trollies.
The solution was a moving walkway, but the external environment – it does rain occasionally in Yorkshire – presented a challenge.
“Our external moving walkway at 5Rise offers full outdoor protection utilising galvanisation and corrosion-proof materials,” explains David Saunders, technical manager at Stannah Lift Services. “Internal heaters are also installed to help maintain optimum performance in winter conditions.”
But from a construction and installation point of view, the outdoor location made things easier, Saunders notes: “Because site access was in an outdoor, open environment we could fully assemble the machine in our factory and deliver it swiftly to site fully built and ready for the heavy duty job required of it – moving up to 9,000 pedestrians per hour.”
And this unusual inclined walkway is lit by eco-friendly LED units. While LED lighting featured throughout the unit to direct pedestrians safely into the store, Stannah also specifically incorporated it into the inner decking as an extra safeguard.
Light-sensitive LED lighting powers into action in response to external conditions. According to Stannah this lighting system beats traditional lighting tubes for a number of reasons: it has a longer life time of around 50,000 hours; saves on a maintenance costs; it uses 70 per cent less energy; poses a zero hazard of mercury or lead leaking into the environment; it generates less heat while producing continuous steady light with no fluorescent flickering. And finally it is less breakable.
But even more than aesthetics and sustainability, safety is the key consideration in such an installation and the walkway was designed with safety in mind.
The wheels of shopping trollies cleverly lock into the bed of the moving walkway to ensure that they do not run down the slope.
In addition there are directional key switches and emergency stop buttons at the end of each unit. An automatic announcement system broadcasts guidance and safety messages and a safety brake will automatically stop the walkway when the power is interrupted.
