QuevedoAxis

Innovative system enhances accessibility, encourages walking tours in coastal city.

The city of Santander on the northern coast of Spain established as one of its strategic objectives “the promotion of non-motorized displacements” through four pillars: the Municipal Accessibility Plan, ensuring people with disabilities have the same opportunities as other citizens; the Pedestrian Plan to improve pedestrian mobility and limit the use of motorized vehicles in areas with heavy foot traffic; the Bicycle Promotion Plan, creating new bike lanes and a bike-rental system; and the Vertical Transportation Plan, alleviating the complicated orography of the city by creating pedestrian routes facilitated by stairs, ramps, escalators, lifts and moving walks. Part of fulfillment of this strategy consisted of the supply, installation and commissioning of nine moving walks of 8º and 10º inclines adapted to street inclination, adding a total of more than 230 m of mechanical elements to facilitate mobility.

The capital of the historical region of Cantabria that houses headquarters of multinational bank Banco Santander,[1] Santander’s weather conditions — very high rainfall, high humidity and high salinity — presented challenges for equipment installation. Further, the large size of the moving- walk sections and their interference with vehicle and pedestrian traffic on public roads required careful maneuvering of giant construction cranes. Access to the installation sites and assembly schedules had to be perfectly coordinated with both the main contractor and city council.

To improve mobility between Francisco de Quevedo and Vista Alegre streets, the city hired thyssenkrupp to install the moving walks that facilitate elderly people, those with mobility problems and those with children. The moving walks are also meant to encourage walking, rather than driving, tours. Known as the Quevedo Axis, these streets join the neighborhood around Santander City Hall with Dávila General Street.

A brief description of the assembly of each of the moving walks follows:

• Walkway A, 21 m, supplied in two sections of 12 and 10 m: a 45-mT crane was used for assembly of this walkway.
• Walkway B, 27 m, supplied in two sections of 13.5 m each, installed with the same 45-mT crane used for Walkway A.
• Walkway C, 40 m, supplied in three sections of 13.5 m each: a 50-mT crane was used.
• Walkway D, 33 m, supplied in three sections of 11 m each: a 45-mT crane was used.
• Walkway E, 33 m, supplied in three sections of 11 m each.
• Walkway H, 16 m, supplied in one section.
• Walkway G, 23 m, supplied in two sections of 11.5 m each.
• Walkway I, 12 m, supplied in one section.

The technical characteristics of the mechanical elements were required to guarantee the correct functioning in harsh environmental conditions, together with their location on the street in an open environment. The equipment incorporated the following features:

• Base and base-cover metallic profiles in AISI 316 anticorrosion stainless steel
• Energy-saving frequency inverter with detection via radar
• LED illumination under handholds, illumination of combs and illumination under steps
• Traffic lights
• Photocell people-detection systems along the full length of the stairs’ base
• Fault diagnostics
• Power-line communication to the mechanical-elements control center in the council offices
• Closed-caption TV cameras for remote viewing and remote control from the mechanical-elements control center in the council offices
• Thermostat for operation control

The flexibility and short delivery times of thyssenkrupp Norte, as well as the experience and knowledge of the project and moving-walk assembly team of thyssenkrupp Elevadores made this project a success, fulfilling the client’s expectations and maximizing satisfaction. Led by Project Manager Javier Mur, Assembly Manager Juan Pablo Onrubia and Key Account Manager Joseba Ochoa, the job was completed in September 2018.

Reference
[1] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santander,_Spain
Credits
Owner, operator and promoter: Ayuntamiento de Santander
Main contractor and risk-prevention specialist: COPSESA
Moving-walk manufacturer: thyssenkrupp Norte
Vertical transportation system contractor: thyssenkrupp Elevadores SLU
Project team: Project Manager Javier Mur, Assembly Manager Juan Pablo Onrubia and Key Account Manager Joseba Ochoa