FOOTWAY MAINTENANCE PART 2: AN ASSESSMENT OF PROFILE MONITORING EQUIPMENT

An earlier report by Spong (PR 95, IRRD 867218) reviewed existing and proposed profile measuring equipment to determine which were compatible with the requirements of the provisional Profilometer Specification. This report presents details of the assessment of two machines considered to have the most potential, the British Gas Road Profile Meter and a prototype WDM Footpath Profiler, in test conditions on TRL's Small Road Network and on in-service footways in Worthing, the London Borough of Barnet and Wokingham. It provides comparisons of machine performance against the provisional Profilometer Specification and highway inspectors' assessments. The practical problems of footway measurement using these machines are highlighted together with suggestions for their modification. A further study was made in Sheffield which compared the results made with the WDM Footpath Profiler with subjective assessment of footway serviceability made by the walking public, details are included in the Appendix. The report also examines the cost effectiveness of using such equipment on footways and proposes alternative strategies for footway assessment. Finally it outlines future work which may be necessary to produce a range of suitable machines for the measurement of all types of footway surface. (A)