LEVEL OF SERVICE STANDARDS FOR STAIRWAYS IN HONG KONG UNDERGROUND STATIONS

Safe pedestrian movement is essential in all cities but particularly in such densely populated cities as Hong Kong. This paper aims to investigate the levels of service (LOS) for stairways in Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations. Space requirements and several qualitative factors were gleaned from the observation of pedestrian preferences and behavior. A pilot study was carried out before conducting the pedestrian preference interview survey in Hong Kong MTR station. On the basis of the survey results, six LOS design standards for stairways in Hong Kong MTR stations are proposed. The survey results are also compared with previous research findings. Lighting and clear visibility on the Hong Kong MTR stations stairways is found to be the major factor of concern with interest in the environment being of low priority. The proposed LOS standards can be used as a basis for the design and development of pedestrian stairways in both Hong Kong MTR stations and also for that in other Asian cities with similar environments.