Planning and Developing Trails and Routes - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 175

Its aim was to encourage grass-roots cooperation to recognize, establish,
preserve and enhance particular roads in the US owing to their historic or
natural values (Cordes, 2001; US Department of Transportation, 2013).
Under this legislation, each individual state determines the criteria for
establishing scenic byways. Sipes et al. (1997: 100) outlined the designation
criteria of several states. In Kansas, four criteria are used: scenic quality,
scenic diversity, outstanding quality and route impressions. In the case of
Kansas, a scenic road must be visually pleasing and provide an enjoyable
experience. Oregon's criteria include visible landforms, outstanding diversity
of vegetation, water as a dominant feature in the landscape, rich and
contrasting color combinations (rock, soil, vegetation, etc.), human modifica-
tions do not detract from visual harmony, and rare or unique elements of the
regional landscape. In Ohio, scenic byways must represent heightened visual
experiences and demonstrate exceptional landscapes, landforms, water fea-
tures, vegetation or human-created elements that contribute to a route's
visual environment (Sipes et al. , 1997: 100).
In addition to the federal programs, each state can create its own scenic
corridor programs, many of which have and include designations such as
parkways, historic roads and heritage highways, each with its own specific
criteria and guiding principles (Lew, 1991).
There are many varieties of scenic routes and byways programs through-
out the world. However, most of them are simply designated by national
regional tourism organizations as marketing tools to highlight certain tour
circuits that visitors can travel by car, bicycle or motorcycle. Examples include
the Royal Dutch Tourist Association's (now the Netherlands Board of Tourism
and Conventions) designated scenic car routes (de Kok, 1991), much like the
Northern Ireland Tourist Board is setting apart the Causeway Coastal Route
(as previously discussed in Chapter 3). The US is one of relatively few coun-
tries that have officially designated scenic byways by national legislation.
Countryside access laws in the UK and Europe
Europe and the UK have many acts of legislation that enable freedom of
access to the countryside. These laws have been extremely instrumental in
the development of short- and long-distance footpaths (Scott, 1990).
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 in England and Wales (dis-
cussed earlier in the topic) was critical to opening millions of acres of rural
and wilderness Britain to increased hiking and walking activities (Mansley,
2000). This has seen the growth of many trails and footpaths throughout the
country. Until the Act was passed, ramblers were severely limited in the areas
they could hike, including on private land (Ferris, 1996; Scott, 1986), but the
legislation opened up even some private property, in particular uncultivated
areas (e.g. heathlands, mountains, some forests), for public access via footpath
development. Although naturally there were concerns among landowners,