5 Million Steps Serving as Proof of Durability

In mid-2018, the Frankston Train Station Precinct underwent a major redevelopment, transforming the heart of Frankston City. Upgrades included an air-conditioned waiting room, new platforms, and better local access for all abilities. Young Street, specifically, now boasts pedestrian-friendly facilities, new footpath paving, ample seating, and thoughtfully designed landscaping to create a welcoming and accessible environment for all travellers.

The Frankston Train Station is the 19th busiest terminal across the Melbourne train network with its Wikipedia page information supporting the estimation of at least 5 million having walked the paths over the last 6 and a half years.

5 million steps sure is a great way to put a product through its paces and we’re proud to say that our Access Tile^® has performed exceptionally well, both in the Cast-in-Place and Surface Applied tile formats.

The ESP team assisted the appointed contractor during the upgrade of the footpaths, installing Cast-in-Place tactiles integrated with the paving works and Surface Applied tactiles where it was not suitable to use Cast-in-Place, for example where timing didn’t align or where the layout included a curve.

Spanning nearly 350 meters along Young Street, over 600 of our 300×600 white warning and directional Access Tiles® were installed.

A recent visit back to the site after nearly 7 years has filled us with joy, noting the vast majority of tiles are still in exceptional condition. In our travels, we see a number of examples of other ‘white’ tiles that have greyed or turned beige. Our tiles have remained a crisp white with only a bit of built-up surface dirt shifting the colour slightly darker. Luminance contrast between the tactiles and substrates remains compliant.

Slip resistance is still of a completely satisfactory standard with the domes and prisms showing minimal wear in only the most heavily trafficked areas.

A core value of ESP and the products we bring to market is to maintain sensitivity and respect for the environmental impact we have. Having an important safety product in a public environment shouldn’t mean excess waste is created when products fail, so to use a long-lasting, durable tactile not only saves time and money but importantly minimises impact to the environment by eliminating the need for frequent replacement.

If your next project calls for tactiles, get in touch with us to learn why ESP’s Access Tile® is the smarter choice.