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Questioning the linear relationship between doorway width and achievable flow rate

This was suggested by Dr Harold Nelson, an innovator in the field (formerly of NIST and Hughes Associates,Inc., now deceased). It involves using material provided by Dr. J.J.Fruin (retired, New York Transport Authority) regarding movement data from several locations (including the World Trade Centre) to quantify a previously undocumented impediment upon pedestrian flow (door-leaf configuration), which might lead to optimistic egress assumptions. This effort is described in the SFPE Handbook chapter on egress and has influenced the recent development of the New Zealand design regulations (charles.fleischmann@canterbury.ac.nz, Dr.C.Fleischmann, Associate Professor, Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Cantebury, New Zealand).