Urban pedestrian stone pavements: measuring functional and safety requirements

Urban street pavements have historically represented the synthesis of functional and aesthetic values, capable of meeting the transportation needs and demands in which the pedestrian is always put at the centre of the project. The quality of a pedestrian-priority space must be read according to a series of specific indicators that combine the unbeatable aesthetic requirements with those of comfort and safety. To this end, an integrated approach of experimental measurements to characterise the quality of pedestrian paths (pedestrian-only streets, sidewalks, shared areas and plazas), with specific attention to stone and segmental pavements, was introduced. The different effects, in terms of vibrations and noise, that the pavement of a pedestrian path can generate on a user pulling a suitcase trolley (telescopic handle wheeled luggage), were evaluated. These values were than associated with other parameters capable of describing the characteristics of the pavement surface, such as surface macro- and micro-roughness, skid resistance and size of the elements and joints that make up the pavements. Comfort and safety thresholds for pedestrian street pavement surfaces have been identified. They can be usefully made available to designers for the functional characterisation of urban paving solutions, with particular attention to those in natural stone.