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Section 3: Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan

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Overview

A Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan (LAMP) is a tool for managing the aesthetic qualities of a highway segment and for communicating to the public TxDOT’s plans for making aesthetic improvements to state maintained rights-of-way.

The objectives of the LAMP are to:

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Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan Development Process

This section describes the process of developing an LAMP, establishes the elements of the plan, and provides an example that can be used to develop plans for simple urban and rural corridors. Table 2.2 shows the steps in developing an LAMP. The steps are explained in detail following the table.

Anchor: #i1004705Table 2.2. Developing the LAMP

Step Number

Task

Step 1

Use Landscape and Aesthetics Assessment statement developed during LAA

Step 2

Develop a palette of design details to guide development of the corridor

Step 3

Divide the corridor into development zones



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Step 1: Utilizing the Landscape and Aesthetics Assessment (LLA)

The LAA provides a comprehensive picture of all relevant uses facing the designer. No matter what stage of the design process or scope of project, an assessment of some type must be performed to ensure that important issues are not overlooked. In this step the designer uses the assessment to set specific goals to address key issues and problems identified in the corridor. This will include (but not be limited to) determinations such as:

Once the designer has determined the best way to meet the needs of specific design goals, the process proceeds to the development of design refinement of Step 2.

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Step 2: Develop a Palette of Design Details to Guide Development of the Corridor

The simplest form of LAMP is a collection of design detail palettes. These design palettes are the focus of the LAMP. Their purpose is to provide maximum design flexibility while ensuring a harmony among the basic design elements as described in other sections of this manual.

To guide the design of a transportation facility with respect to its landscape and aesthetics properties there are five palettes recommended as the basis of the LAMP:

A materials table organizes the selections made from the five palettes listed above.

Color Palette. Materials have a generic color therefore it is very important to coordinate the colors of materials. In so far as possible, all structures placed on the roadside or incorporated into the pavement surface, signage, and other appurtenances should take advantage of natural color and avoid the use of any finish requiring maintenance or replacement. For example, painted surfaces should be avoided wherever possible.

Finish Palette. Finishes are also related to the native color of the material. In the context of landscape and aesthetics design, finish has to do with the textural quality of the surface or any special surface treatment such as vandal resistant finishes. Finish may also relate to the shape or finish of a modular unit such as a CMU, segmental retaining wall (SRW) unit, reinforced earth retaining wall panel, or tilt wall noise wall panel.

Signage and Fixtures Palette. This category includes all other structural elements that might be incorporated into the corridor. The list would include but not be limited to: fencing, sign supports, guardrail supports, finishes under guardrails, delineators, crash barriers, rail terminators, luminaires, poles, and signals. These are small items but they need to coordinate with the major components to ensure a harmonious end result.

Structural Systems and Details Palette. This palette sets the types of details that will be used for a variety of structures. It covers the considerations that would not necessarily be covered in the materials, color, and finish palettes. For example, there are a variety of panel shapes that can be used for reinforced earth retaining walls as well as for the wall cap and termination. Likewise the finish on materials such as CMUs, SRW blocks, and walks can vary widely. Other details that should be considered include bent shape and reveals, beam reveals, bent ends and connection types, special bridge rails and CTB, head and end wall railings, pedestrian separation railings, treatment of median voids, under bridge surfaces, and traffic channelization islands.

This section of the corridor plan requires a great deal of coordination between bridge, roadway, signs and signals, and environmental personnel. This section could be a simple table or may involve a more detailed catalog of design options based on the appropriate development zone. The concept of development zone is elaborated in Step 3.

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Materials Table

A materials table may be used to view many different elements at one time and allows the designer to consider aesthetics issues as a whole for the corridor rather than on a piece-by-piece basis. The list of elements shown in the sample table ( MATTBL) is for example purposes. The final list will vary with the project. The list should include as many elements as possible even if the element will be a generic type. This prompts comparison between these and elements that might be treated specially. In addition to the items already listed, other elements for consideration might include:

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Plant Materials Palette

Plant materials should be divided into two sections. The first section would have recommendations for basic erosion control as well as appropriate landscape enhancements for the purpose of minimizing maintenance and ensuring a safe, sustainable roadside. The second section should specify approved plant materials for ornamental purposes in cases where special interests or adjacent communities wish to partner with TxDOT for long term maintenance. Table 2.3 is an example of a plant materials palette.

Anchor: #i1004721Table 2.3. Sample Plant Materials Palette – Anywhere, Texas

Roadside Zone

Plant Materials

Shoulder turf (sandy soil)

HOU mix 1 or HOU winter mix temporary

Shoulder turf (clay soil)

HOU mix 2 or HOU winter mix temporary

Borrow ditch zone

HOU hydraulics mix

Steep slope reforestation

Pinus taeda, with HOU mix 4 (understory)

Moderate slope reforestation

See approved woody species in Plant Materials Palette

Ornamental Materials

Trees

-

Pinus taeda

Loblolly pine

Lagerstroemia indica

Crape myrtle

Liquidambar styracaflua

Sweet gum

Shrubs

-

Pittosporum tobira

Green pittosporum

Nerium oleander

Oleander spp

Cortaderia sellowiana

Pampasgrass

Photinia glabara

Photinia

Pyrancantha coccinea

Pyrancantha

Asalea spp

Azalea


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Step 3: Divide the Corridor into Development Zones

The development zone concept is a key to ensuring long term sustainability of a highway corridor. A development zone is a classification of the highway corridor that reflects the anticipated maximum intensity and character of landscape development. This includes pavement all structures and planted right-of-way maintained by TxDOT. The level of development is related directly to the department resources required for long-term maintenance.

There are five zones defined, which represent five different levels of development (see Table 2.4). The first two zones include ornamental landscape enhancements and require that a community partner assume responsibility for long-term maintenance. Zones 3-5 include no ornamental enhancements. All planting and other materials are used to reestablish native or adapted vegetation associations to achieve long-term erosion control and sustainability of the corridor. While the purpose is primarily utilitarian, the proper use of the corridor Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan will coordinate development so that landscape and aesthetic concerns will be satisfied as well by ensuring harmony among all of the natural and built elements of the highway.

Development Zones. After issues of safety have been addressed, the primary consideration as to the ultimate feasibility of a project will be the level of maintenance it will require to function as it is intended. The level of maintenance that can be provided is determined by the available funds for maintenance and pool of expertise available through the contracting and inspection process.

Landscape projects installed on TxDOT rights-of-way are to be grouped into five general categories that can be useful for planning. This is an element-based approach that uses the estimated development and maintenance costs of different project elements to classify the project. In landscape development projects certain elements will always call for specific management techniques and the costs for these can be reasonably estimated. The presence of these elements in a plan is therefore an indicator of the relative maintenance or management costs of the project.

This approach does not precisely quantify maintenance costs but does enable the planner to make preliminary resource allocation decisions with regard to maintenance levels and where within the roadside they should occur. The calculation of more accurate maintenance costs for any specific project will be performed as part of the site-design process.

The development zone classification is based on the common elements and maintenance considerations of structures, planting, surface treatment, mowing, and access.

Zone I. A Zone I landscape is one in which there is intensive development requiring frequent or intense maintenance. Almost any type of structures and surface treatments may be in a Zone I development. All Zone I development is limited to projects where a public entity contracts with TxDOT to assume responsibility for all maintenance, except the pavement and associated structures.

Zone I development is generally discouraged on all state rights-of-way due to the extreme maintenance requirements. Before a city is allowed to develop a right-of-way to this level TxDOT should be satisfied that the entity seeking the partnership has the experience and wherewithal to maintain the development at an appropriate level and that the proposed development will in no way threaten the public health or safety.

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  • Structures: Zone I development usually involves an interchange or intersection. For this reason, there are often bridges, channelization islands, signs, lighting standards, and other types of structure that must be considered as part of the project.
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  • Planting: Projects will have a significant budget devoted to the installation of ornamental plant materials and the percentage of the non-paved areas devoted to ornamental planting.
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  • Bed plantings: Zone I projects contain large areas of prepared soil planted with ornamental plants that may include shrubs, ground covers, annuals, and perennials. The projects usually have ornamental planting that requires frequent mechanical weed removal or use of selective herbicides.
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  • Bed location: In Zone I projects, bed areas are usually placed at the same level as the surrounding soil so that beds are subject to weed and grass invasion. Maintenance of the beds requires frequent edging with hand tools.
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  • Plant types: Zone I includes any development that uses annual or perennial plants or plants that require special pest control measures.
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  • Irrigation: Any landscape development that requires irrigation of turf or continuous irrigation of bedded plant materials is a Zone I development.
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  • Mowing: Zone I includes any project requiring frequent mowing cycles to maintain a manicured appearance, or projects with irregular shapes that require the use of small push-type or riding mowing machinery.
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  • Access: Access may be limited and special equipment may be needed to remove refuse or to maintain plants.

Zone II. A Zone II landscape is one in which frequent or intense maintenance activities might occur but are limited to the establishment phase (no more than two growing seasons) of a project. Maintenance thereafter is fairly regular and does not require specialized skills. All tasks can be accomplished with common hand tools or common power equipment.

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  • Plant material: Ornamental planting may be a significant component of Zone II development. However, plantings are less complex than in Zone I and spread over a larger area.
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  • Bed plantings: Bed plantings may occur in Zone II, but will generally be small in size and not a significant portion of the overall project.
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  • Bed location: Beds in Zone II must be raised above the surrounding grade or be located in medians or other structures where they are not in contact with any turf area.
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  • Plant species: Plant species used in Zone II beds shall be evergreen or approved deciduous woody shrubs. No annual or perennial plants may be used in a Zone II development. Maintenance activities such as fertilization, pruning, and insect control may occur but are not required on a regular basis.
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  • Turf mowing: Zone II includes projects that increase the number of mowing cycles and may require the use of small-swath mowing equipment.
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  • Plant irrigation: Irrigation shall be limited to drip or bubbler systems with automatic controllers. Turf irrigation shall be subsurface only.
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  • Access: As noted above, access for maintenance activities must be maintained. Trees planted in open turf shall be limited to areas where slopes are flatter than a 3:1 ratio of run to rise to prevent damage to slopes due to turning actions of mowing equipment.

Zone III. This zone limits the types and placement of plant material and the length of time in which routine maintenance will be required. Maintenance activities for plants in this zone may be intermittent, perhaps only once per year or two years.

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  • Bed plantings: No bed planting which requires the wholesale disturbance of the soil, either in tilling or the adding of soil amendments, shall be included in Zone III. Shrubs used in rows or as mass plantings shall be planted in individual planting pits. Preparation of planting areas shall be limited to mowing or herbicide application of existing vegetation.
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  • Plant selection: Trees and shrubs used in Zone III shall be those with significantly low maintenance requirements and must be placed in areas where their full mature size can be attained without pruning. Shrubs shall be those species which are fairly rapid growers, evergreen or fast growing perennials such as Pampasgrass that are greater than 4 ft tall and are able to effectively shade out weed seedlings beneath them once established. No plant in Zone III will require pruning to maintain a specific shape or character. Plants requiring routine insect control or fertilization beyond establishment should not be used.
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  • Weed control: Weeding required in Zone III (after the plant establishment period) shall be limited to the use of mechanical or herbicide treatments of structure edges or tree-wells only. No hand weeding shall be required.
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  • Plant irrigation: Irrigation shall be limited to drip or bubbler systems with automatic controllers. Temporary irrigation systems with shrub risers are allowed. No turf irrigation shall be used.

Zone IV. This zone includes landscape elements or treatments that require little or no long-term increase in maintenance.

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  • Plant material: Plant material in Zone IV shall be limited to the use of tree plantings within areas not included in regular mowing cycles. Shrubs shall be used primarily to reduce or improve maintenance within a site. Only those plant species of demonstrated hardiness for the roadside shall be used. No insect control, supplemental fertilization, or pruning is anticipated for the life of the project.
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  • Weed control: Weeding required in Zone IV shall be limited to the use of herbicide treatments of tree-wells or shrub plantings for a short period only to enhance establishment. No later weed control is anticipated for the life of the planting.
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  • Plant irrigation: Irrigation shall be limited to the use of truck-irrigation only. No continuous, long-term irrigation is anticipated after the establishment period.
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  • Access: Planting included in Zone IV shall not be placed near any structures or obstacles in such a way that normal mowing operations shall be affected.

Zone V. This zone is composed of those areas in which it is not safe or practical to install any landscape element (principally plant material) that will require any maintenance. Development in Zone V areas may be limited to ‘hard-scape’ elements such as paving, walls, or other permanent structures. In most cases, the goal in these sites is to reduce or eliminate the need for regular maintenance.

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  • Plant material: No ornamental plant materials and only limited vegetation for erosion control should be used in Zone V.
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  • Weed control: Weeding required in Zone V shall be limited to the use of spot herbicide treatments to control weed invasion in joints and cracks.
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The Development Zone Chart

Table 2.4 provides a graphic description of how the zones are organized. A project’s zone classification is determined by which of the highlighted areas are expected to occur in the project. This table is a summary of the development characteristics of the various development zones. It is currently limited in scope and needs to be expanded as the zone definitions mature.

For instance, if a project is expected to require continuous hand-weeding after establishment, it is considered to be a Zone I landscape. Likewise, any project that can be mowed only by push mowers is also rated as a Zone I.

The zones are necessarily vague since many specific design decisions affecting maintenance are yet to be made at the site-design level. TxDOT will make the final determination of the level of management.

Anchor: #i1004779Table 2.4. Development Zone Chart

Components

Zones

-

I

II

III

IV

V

Prepared Beds

-

-

-

-

-

Ground level

X

-

-

-

-

Raised bed

-

X

-

-

-

Groundcovers

-

-

-

-

-

Annuals or perennials

X

-

-

-

-

Shrubs

-

-

-

-

-

Deciduous

-

X

-

-

-

Evergreen

-

-

X

-

-

Row or mass plantings

-

-

-

X

-

Trees on Slopes

-

-

-

-

-

Slopes 4:1 or steeper

-

X

-

-

-

Slopes flatter than 4:1

-

-

-

X

-

Mowing

-

-

-

-

-

With non-mowing or reduced mowing

-

-

-

-

-

Push mower or small riding mowers

X

-

-

-

-

Increased number of mowing cycles

-

X

-

-

-

Large equipment use is restricted

-

X

-

-

-

Weed Control

-

-

-

-

-

Hand-weeding

X

-

-

-

-

Herbicide application

-

-

-

-

X

Mechanical (trimmers)

-

-

X

-

-

Irrigation

-

-

-

-

-

Turf - above ground spray

X

-

-

-

-

Turf - below ground drip

-

X

-

-

-

Drip or bubbler systems

-

-

X

-

-

Truck irrigation

-

-

-

X

-

Structures

-

-

-

-

-

Specialty pavings

-

-

-

-

X

Retaining walls

-

-

-

-

X


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Partnering Opportunities

TxDOT resources are generally not sufficient to maintain a Zone I and or Zone II project. These types of development require a high degree of maintenance. TxDOT will consider these types of developments when local community or civic groups formally agree to provide the necessary maintenance.

Partnering arrangements should be developed where possible to maximize resources and to instill community pride through involvement in the beautification of TxDOT’s highways.

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