B8-2　Ergonomic Design and Assessment of Footbridges for Filipino Children and Elderly

抄録

Footbridges are built to ensure the safety of pedestrian in crossing the busy streets. To prevent jaywalking and traffic-related accidents, more than 100 footbridges were built by the Local Government Units (LGUs) and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in the capital of the Philippines, Metro Manila. However, the MMDA recorded an increase of 21% of accidents related to vehicles hitting pedestrians from 2005 to 2011. From the 7-year data of MMDA, out of 3668 accidents, 27% of which came from the children age group and 9.8% from the senior citizen age group. One of the most dangerous roads in the Philippines is the Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. This study aims to investigate the problems preventing the children and elderly in using the footbridges, assess the footbridges in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines, and recommend standards in designing footbridges. A survey was conducted to establish the common complaints of children and elderly. Using the result of survey, the anthropometric measurements of thirty (30) Filipino elderly aging 60 years old and above and thirty (30) Filipino children aging 6 to 13 years old, and the established local and international standards, all footbridges in the Commonwealth Avenue were evaluated. Majority of the problems indicated in the survey include fatigue in climbing and descending the stairs, heat because of uncovered footbridges, unusable elevators and service ramps, and illumination. The results of the analysis showed that the ergonomic measurement of the stair rise designed for children and elderly must be between 13.68 cm and 16 cm, stair tread should be within 27.9 cm and 30 cm, respectively. Handrail height for children should be 59.6 cm and 93.3 cm for the elderly, and handrail diameter should be 4.5 cm and 5.4 cm, respectively. The pathway width and stairway width should be at least 164.4 cm, and the guard height should be at least 100 cm. Roofs, levelled floors, ramps, elevators, illumination, and security are also preferred by respondents to be present in footbridges. From the evaluation of all the footbridges in the Commonwealth Avenue, 77% (17 out of 22) were outside the standards for stair rise, 91% (20 out of 22) were outside of the standards for handrail height, 72% (16 out of 22) were outside the handrail diameter standards, 14% (3 out of 22) were outside the standard height between landings, 77% (17 out of 22) were outside the standard landing depth, and only 1 was outside the standard for pathway width.