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SELECTED MAJOR CORRIDOR DESIGN PROJECTS

Corridors in the landscape planning/design context are man made and naturally occurring linear functions that occur in any planned development.
Their makeup & dimensions vary greatly . I have been involved in many corridor design projects, usually as a member of a team of specialists whose
makeup reflects the specific kind of corridor being analyzed.With transportation it's transportation engineers and regional planners, with electrical
transmission it includes electrical engineers, pylon designers, etc.

The number of skills required in successful corridor planning/design has grown considerably over the last 15 years. More recent additions to these
complex teams have included satellite imagery specialists, wildlife migration experts, ecosystems pros, acoustical designers for road noise, lighting
experts and more.

A typical summary  of the more recognized corridor types used in regional planning and urban design today would be as follows:

What's on this site?

There is a lot of information here, so I will provide a content summary to assist you in taking it all in with one scroll.
-----MPTC'S from scratch--Tuggeranong's 130km arterial network
-----Corridors as front doors or portal to community's--St. George Island Fla's new $100,000 entryway
-----Transforming/upgrading existing road corridors--a historic coastal highway looks to the future--St James Island Fla.
-----PIC'S Primary Infrastructure Corridors--Tuggeranong Australia's Electrical--Water Supply and Storm Water Corridors
-----SUC'S--recreational corridors--Tuggeranong's 170km regional/national multitrail corridors--how to design for them

Multi Purpose Transportation Corridors (MPTC) from scratch--- examples

Tuggeranong's 130 km (80 mile), 6 lane arterial road system.
This is a still evolving massive multipurpose corridor network throughout this planned 350,000 population community, adjacent to and immediately south
of Canberra Australia. I say multipurpose because these 150-200m corridors primarily accommodate the city's primary road system but they also have
several other infrastructure uses for regional drainage, mass transit, electrical transmission and recreational multi trail systems. As of 2008 about 85%
of this satellite city's corridor system is complete.

Below is a diagram illustrating how Tuggeranong's transportation corridor system fits into both the regional Y plan and a strategy plan for the city.
Regional planning pundits the world over have given many kudo's for the Y plan concept in both it's simplicity and brilliance of execution
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Below are both a 1970 concept plan and a 2008 as built  aerial showing a nearly built out Tuggeranong. The  multipuroose transportaion
corridor network is clearly visiable and one can see how critical it was to plan every aspect of this massive, complex network early in beginning of
the city in the late 1970"s.

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a 2007 aerial of a nearly built out Tuggeranong. Note the similarity of the plan and the built version. The many miles of Multi Purpose Transportation
Corridors can clearly be seen. 1--Kambah community 2--Woden Valley development 3-Town Centre  4--Murrumbidgee River Park  5--Conder with it's
17,000 projected size nearly complete.

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A 1970's conceptual sketch I did for the northern portion of Tuggeranong and a 2007 aerial below it showing the striking similarity between the two many
years later. Both the sketch and the aerial clearly show how the various corridors impact the visual character of the city and how important it is to visually and
functionally integrate them into the fabric of the community
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a 2007 aerial from the same angle as my 1970" sketch shown above
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A particularly good example of how major transportation corridor's can be integrated into a community. The orientation concept shown below enabled
the road engineers and myself to visually integrate Drakeford's Drive's 6 lanes into the central portion of Kambah and make a major success of it as well.
over 8 pedestrian under passes were employed, acoustical mounding near the housing, antiglare mounding in the medians and thousands of trees and
shrubs were planted
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As built  for Kambah's community consolidated open space park. The multipurpose corridor traverses thru the heart of the development but has been
skillfully integrated into the urban fabric via the use of pedestrian underpasses, acoustical mounding, antiglare mounding, underground utilities, thousands of
trees andshrubs. Arguably one of the best examples of collaborative corridor design to be found anywhere.. BSU stands for the 4.2ha (7ac) basic sports unit
that was used throughout Tuggeranong's extensive recreational system. PU indicates the 12 or so pedestrian underpasses within view of this as built aerial
taken in late 2007.

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A drawing I compiled early in the formation of corridor planning for Tuggeranong's 130km (80mile) Major Transportation Corridor program. Most of a
community's basic infrastructure needs are incorporated into the corridor as seen on the autocad drawing. Included here are acoustical walls and mounding,
Maglev ROW'S, major storm water drainage, 6 lanes of vehicular traffic, utility corridors adjacent to the road pavement for lighting, and massive
amounts of planting
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A drawing of mine at a larger scale showing corridor detail including one of the first pedestrian overpasses that I played a key role in.  A large part
of thecorridor design process is getting all of the corridor components in the right place. The Tharwa overpass was badly needed to safely get
students from masstransit to the classroom. All of the surface and piped storm water from the adjacent shops, housing and schools as well as road
drainage found its way into thetwo drainage swails shown. A lot is going on here and it took a lot of co-ordination to get it right and this was only one
small portion of the huge network we hadto plan for
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The Tharwa Dr structure was a great success not only because of it's  beauty but it also had no steps and allowed bikes, wheel chairs and scooters
as well as foot traffic to easily get across it because of the S ramps that did not exceed 10% slope at any one point. I came up with the concept for
this structure and worked closely with the civil engineers to get it to construction. One debate that never got completely over was whether to fit a
mesh cage over the structure to prevent objects being thrown down at traffic and weird types from jumping into traffic. We agreed to try it with an
unobstructed motif until we had reason to do otherwise. The need has not arisen yet. Another issue was how to light it. I incorporated led lights into
the handrails to light the walkway surface without glaring light into motorists' faces. It has worked quite well. Very stunning at night.
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These were two different studies of the same portion of roadway that I did with the engineers trying to get the acoustical mounding right for the
school, seeing if the Maglev corridor had enough room, working with the hydraulics people in trying out both a surface swail and a lined channel option
for the drainage, and so on.The point illustrated here is all of the various talents it takes to orchestrate a successful corridor design
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World class integration of major transportation corridor elements seen below in the early design of a segment of Drakeford Drive near Isabella Pond
and a completed photo taken in 2007.. I worked on this very complex portion of the Drakeford corridor for 2 years before we finally got it right and went
to contract drawings

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A 2007 as built of the intersection at Drakeford Drive and Isabella Drive.. Over 8000 trees and shrubs were planted in this portion of the roadway alone.
The Isabella pond is an important flood retention basin as well as a major aesthetic element in the community and fitting it into all that was going on was
a major challenge. I also introduced acoustical mounding along the length of the medium density housing along Drakeford Drive.
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The thousands of furniture components are a significant part of imaginative corridor design. One of the materials that I was instrumental in introducing
into corridor development for Tuggeranong was Austen steel for overpasses, guardrail, signs, lighting masts, electrical transmission towers and more.
Austen was developed by BHP Australia in the 70's and found great success worldwide because it not only had an appealing earth tone color but
formed a permanent protective patina of oxidization (rust) and never needs painting. I have used it many times over the years--great product.
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Two of many types of pedestrian underpasses that I  designed are shown below. These structures had to be cost effective because so many were
needed to safely get to schools, housing and parks. One of the tough design challenges for under passes was to find practical locations that meshed
with planning needs. We looked for economical locations for crossings where minimal earthworks and structure was needed. I developed these two
designs using large road culverts and simply extending bridge abutments by 10 meters or so. Both techniques saved enough money to get all of them
built within the overall corridor budgeting program. No easy feat.
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as built pedestrian underpass types 2006--because of the volume (88 underpasses) and 9 pedestrian overpasses great emphasis was placed on simplicity
and economy of scale. transportation corridors in major urban areas rely heavily on abundant ways for pedestrians to cross them in complete safety.
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Major Transportation Corridors must be built to demanding time frames and must fit within the larger construction systems for city building. 
Shown below is how I, as a landscape architect integrated into the massive overall corridor program. Basically three skill types must work together
to produce a final product. They are the physical planners, civil and hydraulic engineers and landscape architects who have overall aesthetic responsibility
for corridor success. Essentially we all went thru 3 basic phases as a team getting the roads built. There was initial network definition, actually fitting
the systems to paper and finally overseeing construction. A partial program that I put together for my needs for Tuggeranong is shown below
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Part of Tuggeranong's six lane arterial corridors under construction shown below. Portions of a Wanniassa service road is also shown
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Corridors as Front Doors to community's and cities. Entryway Corridor (EC'S) examples
A front door for a Gulf Coast Barrier Island near Apalachicola Fla was the challenge in this particular design of mine. All native material was used because
of the severe conditions that exist here. (salt laden winds, tidal flooding from hurricanes, etc). Another design challenge in this portal corridor was to propose
a way to solve a long standing flooding problem from storm water runoff. My proposal was to create larger than currently existed natural retention basins in
the large median area along Franklin Blvd.
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A cross section along Franklin Blvd indicating how I proposed to assist in solving the ongoing stormwater flooding issue in the area. My solution was
to use criteria from the SEEP program developed at UFLA for temporarily storing and filtering stormwater runoff The excavated material for the new
all natural basins would be shaped along the roadside as sculptured ground mounding for aesthetic effects

A cad/photoshop composite I did early in the design to convey to the client what kind of character I intended to establish in this important portal.
A critical design objective was to establish an informal visual axis down the length of Franklin Blvd all the way to the beach with its sailmasts, power
skys, seagulls, etc. This is really what Portal design is all about--creating a sense of arrival and a feeling of relaxation as well.
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A 2006 as built of a portion of Franklin Blvd coming off the new causeway bridge looking toward the beach. The muhly grass was in full bloom at the time
of the photograph and the 200 sabal palms planted were on their way to establishment
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Transforming/upgrading existing  road corridors--a historic coastal highway looks to the future
A couple of years ago I participated in a visioning process for the new city of St.James Island  at Ochlocknee Bay Fla. I was asked to peer 50 years
into the future and imagine what the community might look like at that time. A significant part of this process dealt with what new transportation technology
would be around that far into the future. My vision totally embraced high speed transportation as the primary means of moving large numbers in the future.
Below are excerpts from my study that deal specifically with how the two major road corridors servicing SJI will be transformed. I refer to both the existing
costal hwy (US98) running east-west thru the site and state route 319 that runs from the coast north from the site to Tallahassee, some 15 miles away.
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One of four schemes I put together for this future community. Both the corridors of SR319 to the east and US98 to the south would be totally transformed into
Multi Purpose Transportation Corridors (MPTC) by the year 2050. The United States finally got it together in the mass transit field and now has one of the most
advanced systems in the world--far surpassing it's older interstate highway system developed nearly a 100 years ago. Scheme 4 is eco tourism weighted
and, like the other schemes relies heavily on high speed mass transit and 8 lane freeways for their success. Shown below scheme 4 are depictions of how
both perimeter highways would look in the year 50 years or so hence.
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How future generations will solve renewable resource challenges---Synergy By the Sea is but one of many new exciting opportunities in this area
of urban planning
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PIC (Primary Infrastructure Corridors) Landscape planning for a new city's power, water and drainage needs--Tuggeranong Australia
I spent a lot of effort  assisting in imaginative solutions for this new city's infrastructure needs and learned a great deal as well.. .
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Fitting new primary infrastructure to new regions and cities is a major challenge for landscape architects.
One of the primary contributions I made as a landscape architect in Tuggeranong is "fitting" or merging what can be very unsightly
objects into a moreacceptable background. This entails getting huge electrical pylons below the skyline and seeing that their made of austen steel
which creates a marvelous protective rust colored patina over the surface of these monsters. Another technique I used extensively with electrical
transmission was to introduce maximum deflection in the tower line ROW's . This greatly reduced the visual impact these huge structures had in the
larger landscape. But one had to use caution in the number of deflections used, not only because of additional cost but the extensive number of new
cable stays needed to stabilize  the deflected line. Another effective technique with long corridors is planting design that creates irregular more
naturalistic edges to these otherwise unsightly rigid spaces.
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PIC(Primary Infrastructure Corridors) ---Water Transmission Corridors in steep terrain

I have spent a lot of time working with hydraulic engineers in getting huge reservoirs successfully placed on very steep slopes. A great deal of skill
is required of all specialists working on this type of design exercise. The hydraulic engineers have specific limits on the TWL (top water line) elevation
and I found it very tricky getting service access along contour lines in terrain with many large rock outcrops that we worked hard to preserve. One exciting
opportunity that I pursued to the limit here was dual use of these hard to get to sites as hill zone recreation locations for hikers--nature clubs--campers and
general day use recreation activity for school groups and individuals..

I worked with the planners  to co ordinate the regional multi trail location with these sites. We established dual use of the access roads as part of
the trail system and saved a lot of money as well. I made extensive use of geo textile matting for steep slope planting and shaped the balanced
cut to fill on these sites in such a way as to get the planned tree heights over the top face of reservoirs facing out towards the city and the valley floor.
Another very successful technique that I introduced was earth tone oxide dyes used in construction of the reservoirs which blended them into the
the hillside background so well that they were hard to see from the valley floor. extensive additional native species tree and shrub planting made for
a large structure and related earthworks that blended very effectively with the surrounding hillside.
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PIC (Primary Infrastructure Corridors)--regional storm water drainage channels for a new city of 350,000
70 miles (112km) of lined channels and shaped surface drainage swails done to perfection is a tall order to put it mildly
Tuggeranong has a massive runoff volume thru it because its in a large valley with steep surrounding mountains that discharge huge quantities of
stormwater in record time during peak rainfall events. Much of the valley had many miles of eroded gullies because of this and extensive overgrazing
by sheep and cattle growers. A very big problem for the newly emerging city indeed.

I was instrumental in creating the concept of reinventing the very unappealing and dangerous eroded gullies into highly attractive natural drainage streams
complete with over 40 million newly planted Eucalyptus, Casuarina, Callistemon, and many other native species throughout this huge drainage network.
Results have been truly spectacular over the years. A large part of the solution has been so successful was that we piped the "quick flow" or 10 yr flood
and let the 100m swails and lined channels accommodate up to the remaining 100yr flood flows.

Another desirable aspect of this particular solution was it created thousands of hectares of new parkland for general recreation use, trail systems as well
as incorporating a major aesthetic element into the new city. Truly a win win situation for all concerned.
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SUC (Special Use Corridors)--Recreational Regional Multi Trails for hiking--equestrian--cycling use in Tuggeranong Australia.

The multi trail concept (MTC) is a widely utilized type of corridor in regional development. It is frequently both a stand alone element and a sub corridor
in larger Multipurpose Transportation and Infrastructure corridors. I was largely responsible for design and partial implementation of the 147km(91mile)
trail system that traverses Tuggeranong over its 22km(14mi) length and 15km(9.3) . The system is co-ordinated with the ANTS (Australian National Trail
System) and one can, given a lot of time, traverse the width and breath of Australia.

I integrated the trail system with each of the 19 communities in Tuggeranong from Kambah in the North to Banks some 15km(9.3miles)  to the south.
The MTC utilizes all 88 underpasses and all 9 pedestrian overpasses that I put a lot of effort into as well. A recent survey revealed some fascinating
statistics about use of the MTC in Tuggeranong. Essentially the in depth household survey revealed that:
-----some 74% of Tuggeranong's 376,000 people use the trail system at least once a day--either for recreation--exercise--shopping--business, etc
-----some 38% use some portion of the MTC system to get to work via electric cart , bicycle or foot
----some 43% of the business community that delivers products (pizza's--groceries, medicine, etc) utilizes the MTC via electric cart or bicycle
-----some 72% of the pre school, primary, high school and junior college population use the system ever day to get to and from the classroom
The primary part of the 147km network allows you to never cross a busy road and their are emergency phones every 1km.
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kent mccoy landscape architect
www.kentmccoy.com
email: kentmccoy40@gmail.com

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