IMPROVING THE COMPATIBILITY OF HIGHWAYS AND CULTURAL-RECREATIONAL CENTERS

The purposes of the study were to learn how highways influence the location and operation of cultural and recreational centers and how compatibility between centers and highways could be improved. Planning and design factors to be considered when selecting sites were also identified. Another objective was to examine the compatibility of centers and nearby residents and businesses. Finally, the current and potential use of public transportation to and from the centers was examined. Thirteen centers having a number of relationships to the surrounding highway networks were studied. It was found that congestion at some large centers was the result of the inability of the highways to accommodate the volumes of center-generated traffic and the interference caused by the intersecting paths of pedestrians and vehicles. Public transportation could be a good way to ease congestion, but it is not widely used by center patrons and prospects for the future indicate little change. The study findings include several conclusions and guidelines concerning highways and cultural-recreational sites that should be of prime importance to cities that are considering new centers.