CHAPTER 8 



THE DESIGN OF THE HIGHWAY 



1:30 p.m., Monday, May 24 



The Chairman, Mr. BABCOCK. There are numerous facets in the 

 design of the highway. It must be planned to care for land develop- 

 ment and traffic volumes many years in the future. It must be de- 

 signed to have maximum possible built-in safety features. It must be 

 located to do the minimum possible damage to private and public 

 property. It must be fitting and proper in terms of its surrounding 

 environment. Finally, all of these elements must be put together in a 

 package that the public is willing to pay for. Providing such a high- 

 way system for a nation on wheels is a most challenging problem for 

 all governmental agencies. 



Today we are not here to discuss this total problem or the merits 

 of various forms of transportation but rather, the problem as it relates 

 to highway design and natural beauty. The matter of highway 

 design and beauty is obviously relative and there will be many diver- 

 sified opinions pertaining to it. There is the matter of the design 

 of the highway itself in terms of its over-all attractiveness. There is 

 the matter of the effect that the highway will have upon the natural 

 landscape and existing environment. There is the matter of the 

 over-all panorama to be seen by the motorist. There is the matter 

 of superimposing a new urban highway network upon an existing 

 metropolitan complex to eliminate existing traffic strangulation and 

 to prevent further economic decay. These and many other matters 

 must be thoroughly analyzed if we are to design efficient and safe 

 highways that have built-in attractiveness. 



Members of the Panel on The Design of the Highway were Wil- 

 liam Babcock (Chairman), Colin D. Buchanan, John Clarkeson, 

 Lawrence Halprin, Boris Pushkarev, John J. Ryan, Francis W. Sar- 

 gent, and Rex M. Whitton. Staff Associate was James L. Shotwell. 



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