Ever been on one of those moving sidewalks at an airport, and people stop in front of you, forming this clog? And so you stand there, getting steamed up, making these little hops behind them, while people walking alongside the thing move faster than you.

This advanced design has two narrow lanes moving at slightly different speeds. It’s impossible to stand on both at the same time without doing a split, so people have to stand on the left or the right, but not both. This allows you, the impatient traveler, to weave in and out.
-- pluterday, Oct 21 2003

Trottoir Roulant http://www.nga.gov/...a/1900/trottoir.htm
A pair of US engineers did this 103 years ago in Paris, with moving lanes at 4 and 9km/h respectively. I'm not sure how well this was adapted to crinoline dresses. [alligator_al, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Improved non-stopping subway underground http://www.halfbake...ay_2f_20underground
Courtesy of [futurebird] [Shz, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

High(er) speed walkway http://news.bbc.co..../europe/3001182.stm
exactly what it says on the tin [oneoffdave, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

(?) proposed by RAH in 1950's the roads must roll. http://www-users.cs.../heinlein.htm#mwstm
I can't remember who he stole it from. [ato_de, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

If you want to be an impatient traveler, skip the beltways and walk down the vacant aisles next to them. Much faster, especially when the belts are clogged with slow-poke gawkers.

But why not just make the belts wider, and put up notices identifying left (or right) as a passing lane? Commonly done on commuter escalators I've seen, with and without signs.
-- DrCurry, Oct 21 2003


I like this. Of course everyone would stand on the faster side, but this would allow others to pass on the slow side. This will be a lot like the Curry method, only faster since you're moving.
-- Worldgineer, Oct 21 2003


"only faster since you're moving" - well, not if I'm using my soon-to-be patented personal-people-mover hand luggage...
-- DrCurry, Oct 21 2003


<Boards moving "sidewalk" and puts suitcase on floor while removing jumper>
<Extends hand towards suitcase location, gawps in alarm at suitcase speeding away in fastlane>

I do like this idea, similar to one a few months ago. Plus from me (+). How much faster is the fast lane?
-- silverstormer, Oct 21 2003


Just came up with a tangent idea. 3-lane moving sidewalk. Only the right-hand lane has an entry, and it is a normal moving sidewalk speed (I'll call it 8 mph). From there you can take a step to the left onto the faster sidewalk (16 mph). Take another step left and you're on the express sidewalk (24 mph). Not sure I have a good solution to getting off the express sidewalk.

[al_al] hah. 9km/h. Might as well walk.

[shz] Ok, 60 mph is more like it. Everyone may now feel free to ignore my tangent idea.
-- Worldgineer, Oct 21 2003


Tangent idea has also been thoroughly incorporated into several Asimov novels.
-- grip, Oct 21 2003


This year in Paris, they implemented w high spped moving walkway [link], Those whacky French.
-- oneoffdave, Oct 22 2003



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