Impact of Pedestrian Pavement Design on the Users’ Comfort Level in an Intermodal Passenger Terminal

The design of intermodal passenger terminals (IPTs) facilities requires a careful study of different aspects, including the walkability of their pedestrian paths. As for paved surfaces intended for pedestrians, these infrastructures must perform several tasks: greater attention is paid to functional requirements, considering different physical and perceptive people abilities. The regularity, grip and comfort are the prevailing aspects that need more attention from the designer. IPTs’ users are generally passengers performing long trips, who are more likely to carry a luggage: for this reason, the comfort and the effort to which the traveller is subjected when pulling or pushing a suitcase are significant features to analyse. Thus, an integrated approach of experimental measurements was introduced to characterise the comfort level of paved surfaces of the Mediopadana high-speed rail station (Italy), using a smart and original procedure, named stone pavement suitcase trolley test. Through these measurements the hand-arm vibrations perceived by the user, the horizontal forces required to pull or push the suitcase and the work done by the users along a real path were determined. These parameters make it possible to evaluate, from an objective point of view, the comfort of travellers on different pedestrian routes, providing useful tools for their design.