HIGHWAY SCENIC POTENTIALS

A GENERALIZED ESSAY IS PRESENTED ON VISUAL SURROUNDINGS AS SEEN FROM THE VEHICLE. THERE ARE CONSTRAINTS ON THE VIEWER OF HIGHWAY SCENERY WHICH INDICATE THAT CERTAIN COMPOSITIONS CAN BE MORE REWARDING THAN OTHERS, ESPECIALLY WHERE TRAVEL IS ASSOCIATED WITH SPEED. TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THAT THE PAVEMENT ALWAYS FORMS PART OF THE PICTURE AND THAT ITS OWN DESIGN HAS A GREAT DEAL TO DO WITH CHANNELING VIEWS, ETC., THE KIND OF LANDSCAPE THAT CAN BE SEEN WITH THE LEAST EFFORT OR DANGER IS THE DISTANT PANORAMA. THE PROVISION OF SUCH VIEWS PROBABLY SHOULD NOT BE A DOMINATING FACTOR IN FREEWAY LOCATION, BUT IT COULD WELL BE A DECIDING FACTOR, EVERYTHING ELSE BEING EQUAL. IN A SIMILAR VEIN IS THE USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS AS A BASIS FOR HIGHWAY ALIGNMENT AND LOCATION DECISIONS. PROBLEMS OF SEQUENTIAL VIEWING AND THE TASK OF COMPOSITION ARE DISCUSSED. EASEMENTS, ZONING CONTROLS AND OTHER DEVICES USED TO CONTROL THE MORE DISTANT SURROUNDINGS OF SCENIC HIGHWAYS ARE HELPFUL. RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EXISTING VIEWS WHICH HELP TO MAKE THE ROADSIDE SEEM LESS OF RIBBON AND MORE AS A FOREGROUND FOR ANGLE VIEWING, REMEMBERING THAT THOSE PERSPECTIVES WHICH CAN BE STUDIED BEST ARE PRODUCED BY CURVATURE OF HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT.