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Visual quality of the roadside is a topic of increasing interest, and several DOTs
have conducted surveys to try to identify the nuances of driver preferences. The
following stewardship guidelines were developed by WSDOT to maintain the visual
quality of the roadside: [N]
- Identify opportunities to partner with adjacent land owners to preserve or reveal
desirable views and roadside segments that enhance or maintain corridor continuity.
(It is not WSDOT policy to remove vegetation to open up views toward commercial
properties.) Balance desirable visual functions with the needs of roadway users
and adjacent land owners. Coordinate with the regional or headquarters Landscape
Architect. On Scenic Byways coordinate with the Heritage Corridors Program Office.
- Enhance or retain vegetation to screen undesirable views and to meet the requirements
of the Roadside Classification Plan (corridor continuity, blending with,
and buffering adjacent land uses).
- Maintain low growing vegetation or limb up trees to retain desirable views.
- Carefully consider actions before removing vegetation to open up views. Consider
whether development adjacent to the highway is likely to eliminate the view after
removing vegetation. Analyze the angle of view from the driver's perspective and
minimize removal of vegetation to meet the view objective. Consider selective removal
of tree limbs or removal of only the limbs on the lower one third of the tree to
reveal desirable views.
Construction projects, transportation systems, spraying and mowing operations, use
of forage mulches that have not been certified weed-free mulches and other erosion
control products can facilitate the spread of plant and animal species outside their
natural range, exacerbating the costs imposed by invasive species. In the past,
erosion control has involved the planting of many species that are now controlled
as invasives, including aggressive sweet clovers, alfalfa, smooth brome, trefoil,
and perennial rye. Importation of topsoils to projects often increases ragweeds,
thistles, and sweet clovers. Ill-timed maintenance disturbances like blading, mowing,
ditch dredging, and bare-grounding have been known to increase weeds such as kochia,
foxtails, thistles, and milkweeds. Movement of construction equipment from a weedy
site to a non weedy site can transport undesirable seeds. [N]
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