No definite fixed rule can be made for the position of the poles. It is a problem to make the best of them. Also having once been set the pole owners may refuse to reset them, and it might be difficult to get courts to see the necessity of doing so. Therefore the landscape gardener will have to make his design with reference to them or, in cooperation with the pole users, get them changed. In the design natural condition should be preserved as far as possible. It might be wanted rightly to preserve large trees standing near the roadway; this would force poles to the fence line. When the poles are thus placed on the right-of-way boundary it may be necessary for the company to secure an easement from the owner of adjacent property. The highway officials, no doubt, under such circumstances would coöperate with the company in securing it.
By considering the poles as a part of the formal or semi-formal treatment of the roadside, having them arranged uniformly as to setting, distance, height, and length of cross-arms, they will not appear very ugly and even may unite interestingly, at least, with the landscape. Trees may be trained and pruned so that their branches will be above the wires, and shrubs may be grown below them. Anyway, the wires look like business.
Legislation.
—Michigan, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and possibly other states have legislation covering some or all features that have been mentioned for improving and making attractive the appearance of the highway. Other states require property owners to mow the roadside abutting their land each year before weed seeds ripen, but this is not for the purpose of beautifying the roadway. The laws of Michigan provide for the planting and care of trees along state trunk line roads and national aid roads and allow counties and smaller political divisions to appropriate funds for this purpose. The injury or cutting of trees without authority from proper road officials is made a misdemeanor. Arrangements are also made for the Agricultural College to furnish trees and advice for roadside planting.
The laws of Michigan contemplate first a formal application by the counties for roadside improvement, then the plans are made by the staff of the Agricultural College. The necessary trees and shrubs will be obtained from the Agricultural College, or from local sources; nearby groves often furnishing all that are necessary, and the owners are willing to donate them for thinning often betters their own property. In other cases automobile clubs and other local organizations pay for them.
Local Conditions Determine Planning.
—It cannot be too much emphasized that local conditions must determine the planning. The soil and topography, the future development of the roadway for the probable amount of traffic it is to carry, are all factors that should be considered. Neither must the planting be so profuse that the roadway is hemmed in with no lookout. Vision of the interesting points of view as well as vision along the highway itself must not be obstructed. Long vistas of fields, of hills and valleys, of mountain peaks and ranges, of lakes and rivers, are more interesting usually than all the planting that could be made on the right of way. Long, straight rows of trees uniformly spaced, while excellent in some places, might if continued too far become monotonous. Fit the planting to the landscape; possibly a clump here a clump there, or a small grove leading up a draw on land unfit for farming may be arranged in coöperation with the owner. Woodland should be purchased and parks prepared for picnics and outings. Massachusetts has done much in this way. The Government invites the public to make use of the National Parks and National Forest Reserves, but they are too far away from most people to fill an every-day want, therefore a need of local road beautification and roadside parks.
“Cover up ugliness and leave beauty,” is a good slogan, and it must not be thought to be inapplicable upon our home roads. But season everything with reason. A bold rock jutting out may be more interesting than the same rock covered with ivy. Appropriateness and fitness are fully as essential as beauty alone. So a bold line setting out clearly the safe boundary of the road may be more fitting than any attempt to harmonize the road with its surroundings. Good judgment and a sense of artistic fitness are the key to road esthetics.
SELECTED REFERENCES
Boehler, C. F., “The Appearance of our Highways,” Good Roads, Vol. LXII, p. 205; “Selection, Arrangement and Planting of Roadside Trees,” Engineering and Contracting, Vo. LVIII, pp. 233-234.