LANDSCAPE DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND THEIR APPLICATION TO THE MODERN HIGHWAY
SO MANY DEFFERENT PROFESSIONS AND INTERESTS ARE INVOLVED WITH HIGHWAYS THAT THEY OFTEN SEEM TO BE WORKING AT CROSS PURPOSES, EACH INTENT ON ITS OWN CONTRIBUTION WITHOUT REGARD TO CORRELATION WITH THE TOTAL UNIT. YET THERE IS A COMMON DENOMINATOR, WHICH, IF HELD AS A BASIC TRUTH, CAN RELATE THE COMPLEXITIES OF DIVERSE TECHNOLOGICAL PROBLEMS TO ONE SIMPLE COMMON GOAL. WHEN POINT A IS JOINED WITH POINT B BY CONSTRUCTING A HIGHWAY BETWEEN THEM, IS THE PRIMARY PURPOSE TO JOIN THE POINTS OR TO PROVIDE MAN THE OPPORTUNITY TO PASS FROM ONE TO THE OTHER? DOES A PERSON TRAVEL ON A ROAD OR IN A LANDSCAPE? FORMERLY, THE CONCERN WAS PRIMARILY WITH MASTERING NATURE SUFFICIENTLY TO CREATE ROUTES FOR SPORADIC GROUND COMMUNICATION. TODAY, THERE IS THE MONUMENTAL TASK OF INTEGRATING HIGHWAYS INTO WORKABLE JUXTAPOSITION TO A MYRIAD OF OTHER, INTERDEPENDENT, AND OCCASIONALLY INCOMPATIBLE, LAND UNITS. A HIGHWAY IS ONLY ONE ELEMENT IN A LANDSCAPE-ITS PURPOSE IS TO SERVE OTHER LAND UNITS AND THE PEOPLE WHO USE THEM. ALTHOUGH ITS PRIMARY FUNCTION MAY BE TO PROVIDE EFFICIENT CIRCULATION BETWEEN THE LAND UNITS IT SERVES, IT ALSO INTERRUPTS FREE CIRCULATION BETWEEN IMMEDIATE LAND UNITS WHICH IT SEPARATES. THIS IS A PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM WITH LIMITED-ACCESS ROUTES. CONTINUED GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF SUCH HIGHWAYS WILL LEAD TO THE ENCIRCLEMENT OF LARGE LAND AREAS AND WILL HAVE MORE OF AN IMPACT ON THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIO- ECONOMIC CHARACTER THAN ANY EXISTING GEOGRAPHIC OR POLITICAL BOUNDARIES. STANDARDS CONTROLLING ALIGNMENT, GRADE, SIGHT DISTANCE, MEDIAN WIDTHS AND OTHER GEOMETRIC DESIGN FACTORS WHICH MUST BE OBSERVED TO MAKE THE HIGHWAY SAFE FOR TRAVEL BECOME MORE EXACTING AS SPEED AND TRAFFIC INCREASE. GROWING VOLUMES OF TRAFFIC PRODUCE NOISE AND FUMES IN QUANTITIES SUFFICIENT TO CONSTITUTE A SERIOUS NON-PHYSICAL INVASION OF ADJACENT LAND UNITS. THE PROPER INTEGRATION OF A HIGHWAY INTO THE LANDSCAPE IS AS MUCH AN ART AS IT IS A SCIENCE. TO BE OF MAXIMUM SERVICE TO SOCIETY IT MUST BE PLEASANT TO USE AS WELL AS SAFE AND CONVENIENT. ITS CREATORS HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO ADD TO THE HARMONIOUS INTEGRATION OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, NOT SUBTRACT FROM IT. /AUTHOR/
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Supplemental Notes:
- No 774, pp 19-20. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Corporate Authors:
Reports
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Authors:
- Sears, B G
- Publication Date: 1960
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
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Serial:
- Highway Research Board Roadside Development Committee Reports
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Highways; Landscape design
- Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Highways;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00205162
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Nov 29 1971 12:00AM