No Entry
July 6th, 2005 · Posted in Uncategorized ·
30 Days of writing: Day 5
It was pointed out that not moving on escalators just means you can conserve energy. OK, I accept that the escalator problem isn’t as big a deal as I made it out to be.
I was reminded this morning, however, of a far more serious crime that needs rectification.
People ignoring the No Entry signs at Central station. When changing trains from the country line to the city line, the flow of traffic heads underground to where the entry to the city platforms are located. There are two stair-cases to each platform (at this end, I’m not discussing the underground, miniature labyrinth at the far end of the platform), one marked with big No Entry signs at the bottom, and the other with a big No Entry sign at the top. Fairly simple in concept, allowing people entering the platform unrestricted access, while also providing a simple escape route for those leaving the platform.
Unfortunately about 75% of people at Central don’t understand the simple signs with the big slash through them as representing an improvement to the otherwise resultant mess. It’s a pretty simple test of comprehension, and people are failing it continually.
I won’t even start on the people coming down the up-only stairs on the wrong side…
Here endeth the rant.
-RodeoClown
July 6th, 2005 at 5:12 pm
Okay… once again, I agree IN PRINCIPLE.
However, the stairs at central are arranged in such a way as to make you have to walk for absolutely ridiculous amounts of time in order to get to the appropriate platform.
This is a situation in which the design is clearly flawed. Rather than blaming the users for their unexpected usage, steps should be taken to correct this rather unfortunate situation.
eg. Make them both two way!!
July 7th, 2005 at 6:57 pm
Gotta agree with Andy on this one… people understand the sign perfectly well…
…that’s why they don’t have big red lines across them as they walk on the stairs.