Examining influence of merging architectural features on pedestrian crowd movement

A series of experiments were conducted with different merging angles (60°, 90° and 180°) and with different desired speed (normal and slow running). The experiments indicated that pedestrians tend to reduce speeds within merging areas. With higher merging angle, there is greater reduction in speed in the merging area. Speed reduction is statistically significant with merging angles and desired speed. The speed reduction had an effect on the flow rate with reduced flow rate observed for higher merging angle. The empirical results from this study can be used to develop and test pedestrian crowd simulation models.