  Capacity estimation is an important tool for the design and dimensioning of
pedestrian facilities. The literature contains different procedures and
specifications which show considerable differences with respect to the
estimated flow values. Moreover do new experimental data indicate a stepwise
growing of the capacity with the width and thus challenge the validity of the
specific flow concept. To resolve these differences we have studied
experimentally the unidirectional pedestrian flow through bottlenecks under
laboratory conditions. The time development of quantities like individual
velocities, density and individual time gaps in bottlenecks of different width
is presented. The data show a linear growth of the flow with the width. The
comparison of the results with experimental data of other authors indicates
that the basic assumption of the capacity estimation for bottlenecks has to be
revised. In contradiction with most planning guidelines our main result is,
that a jam occurs even if the incoming flow does not overstep the capacity
defined by the maximum of the flow according to the fundamental diagram.

Physics and Society;Statistical Mechanics