Edinburgh College revolving door ‘is dangerous’

IT’S the gateway to learning that has staff and students in a spin.

Calls have been made for speed restrictions to be fitted at a super-fast revolving entrance at Edinburgh College’s Granton campus – after students said it turned so rapidly they felt unsafe using it.

Already one person has been injured by the manually revolving door at the state-of-the-art building’s main entrance, leaving her nursing broken bones when her face and arm were caught.

Students have warned that for elderly people and very young children – who come to the campus for community activities – the risks could be fatal. Now college bosses have agreed to investigate measures to reduce the door’s speed.

James Moohan, students’ association vice-president for the Granton campus, said: “The risks of that door are endless. The students do not feel safe using it.”

He said the dangers were greatest first thing in the morning and at lunchtime, when the number of students passing through the door continuously meant it could turn much faster than the average walking speed.

He said: “In October, a female student suffered a fractured cheek and arm after she was caught in the door. If someone had been jammed who was less able-bodied, they could have been more seriously injured.

“And had the injured student been one of the elderly women who come in to use the hair salons, she could have been killed. The door can probably spin in excess of 12mph – dangerously fast.”

He said the college had put up signs advising caution but insisted this would not be enough to prevent further injury or even death.

Reluctance among college chiefs to install speed restrictors was because they would cost thousands of pounds to fit, Mr Moohan added.

“The college have said people need to use the doors responsibly but they have a duty of care to ensure the door is safe,” he said. “I think they’re not putting the restrictors in because of the associated cost.”

College bosses said they were looking at ways of reducing the door’s speed and reiterated their call to students to be careful when using it.

A spokeswoman said: “Our business resources team has met on this and are now pricing up two options – modifying current doors so they spin more slowly and getting rid of the revolving doors altogether and putting in sliding doors.

“One of those two will definitely happen. Staff will investigate both and go with whichever option they think is best.”