31st January 2006
Oxford Town Hall, OX1 1BX

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From busy main roads to quiet country lanes, our national road network exhibits a great variety of forms and features. The locally distinctive characteristics of roads are a key element of landscape character, and many rural roads follow historic routes that have been shaped by the landscapes they connect. The strong relationship between roads and the landscape is still relevant today and can help to guide the planning and management of transport networks. Roads are also a common means by which people access the landscape, linking towns with the countryside and being used by walkers, cyclists, horse riders and drivers alike.

There is a danger that rural roads can become urbanised by a proliferation of signs and by insensitive use of kerbs, road markings or street furniture. A steady rise in rural traffic levels is also impacting on landscape character and on non-motorised users. In response to this, there is growing recognition that the design of the rural road network has a strong effect on landscape character and on the impacts of traffic. Emerging approaches to the design of road improvements are increasingly sensitive to their character and the surrounding landscape.

This workshop discussed the character of rural roads and how to conserve and enhance local distinctiveness when modifying existing roads, and when planning and designing new networks. It included presentations of practical examples that are developing new ways of managing roads in the landscape.

Speakers:

Jonathan Porter, Countryscape:
Chair and introduction

Kathleen Covill, The Countryside Agency:
'Roads in the countryside – getting it right'

Dean Kerwick-Chrisp, Highways Agency:
'The Highways Agency’s view from the road'

Jo Cleary, Friends of the Lake District
'A new vision for rural road design'

Tim Cheesebrough, Hampshire County Council
'Road safety and the rural highway enviroment'

Maritta Boden, Land Use Consultants
'Landscape benefits in road design, construction & mitigation'

Sue Mitchell, Dorset AONB
'Reclaiming our Rural Highways'