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You know how they have those conveyer belts at airports? “Moving Walkways” I think is what they call them… well, the * new * New York Subway (that I would design) would be one long moving walkway. But, how, (you must ask) could it go fast enough for people to get there quickly—while being slow enough
for them to get on safely?
To solve this there would be 3 or 4 moving walk ways next to each other, the inner most walk way rips by at 60 mph, the first one is going at a modest 8mph. You would get on walkway by stepping through a gate then once you and your parcels (and small children) were properly accelerated you could move up to the next. All walkways would have seats and handrails in a casual livingroom like arrangement.
NO MORE WAITING FOR THE TRAIN!
(cus the “train” would always be there waiting for you… day and night * sigh * )
Yay!
Good idea, but half-baked
http://www.halfbake.../walking_20highways
See Lemon's anno. [stupop, Feb 18 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004]
worm train
http://www.halfbake...m/idea/worm_20train
Alternative "non-stopping" train [hippo, Feb 18 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004]
Synopsis of Robert A. Heinlein's _The Roads Must Roll_
http://www.sfsite.c...The_Roads_Must_Roll
Everything but the tunnel. [mwburden]
[mwburden, Feb 18 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]
(?) the road escalator
http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/
[irinel, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
[link]
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Hmm. I think 4 mph increment lanes would be safer, meaning 15 lanes to get to 60 mph, which could be done, but it'd have to be a wide sucker, unless there were sections without loading/unloading areas that just have faster lanes. The loading/unloading points probably wouldn't have 60 mph lanes, either. I'm still trying to imagine the specifics of how it'd branch off, and other such details. |
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It would be expensive, but even I might pay a toll to ride one of these turbo underground walkways. |
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Only put seats on the fastest lane. You wouldn't want objects moving past each other where people might get hooked, etc. |
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It at least makes me think, so I'm giving you croissant. |
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welcome back, missed you futurebird, I am sure I speak for many - off to read idea. |
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Peter- Yeah, 20 mph would be fine, and the wind would be more tolerable. |
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[futurebird]! Welcome back! Just stopped by to say Quasi-Baked in SciFi, but croissant anyway. |
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Some thoughts:
1) You wouldn't need the slow lanes to stretch the entire distance. You'd only need them at loading/unloading stations. To disembark you'd only need to make one lateral move onto a parallel "offramp," but thereafter the offramp could feed you onto a succession of belts at slower speeds. The entire offramp could be relatively short and inexpensive. Of course, there would have to be a corresponding onramp. |
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2) It would be tricky for people in wheelchairs to make the lateral transition from one belt to a parallel belt at a different speed. |
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3) You wouldn't need the slow lanes at all if you employed something like the device at the ends of a high-speed ski-lift. Chairs or gondolas rotate very slowly around a horizontal wheel while people get off and on. The chairs/gondolas are close together on the wheel and the cable separating them is accumulated to allow the close spacing. Once loaded, the cable between them is gradually released as they speed up. Passengers could use this kind of device to transition between the high-speed belt and the stationary floor. |
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// You wouldn't need the slow lanes to stretch the entire distance.
True [beauxeault]. But what happens when it is busy, and you can't get off the slower lane quick before it ends? Though some people (myself included) might find this very amusing, I'm sure someone would sue.
Cable cars are a perfect example - I'm trying to see how you would manage this on a moving belt-floor idea. No idea yet. |
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Along the line of phoenix's annotation, this is relatively baked in some of Issac Assimov's sci fi novels, including some of the earlier "Foundation" books. |
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Use rotating disks as intersections. The rim of the disk would be moving at the same speed of the belt, and you can walk across it to another belt, or to a stairway in the center.
<This is from one of Larry Niven's books, but I forget which.> |
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People in wheelchairs would be problematic... |
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The slow lanes could gradually slow down at the end, bringing you to a platform from where you can go somewhere else. Inconvenient, but better than smacking into a wall. |
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Everyone bring his/her own modpad which move at top speed of 10 mile/hour to sit on and move in and out lanes.
Wait! Does this defeat the whole purpose public transportation? |
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Baked. Has been used since the 40's in certain malls, world expos, amusement parks, etc. |
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I think it would make everyone so dizy... |
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[StarChaser] Rotating disks? |
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It would be hilarious - anyone
remember the wet rotating disk with
water collecting penguins on "Its a
Knockout" (you have to have been
there...) |
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