Community perceptions and highway design. A visual evaluation of the Melbourne Western City Bypass.

The role of user perceptions in the visual evaluation of road and highway design is discussed and it is postulated that user fulfilment should be a criteria of paramount importance in design. The requirements for effective visual evaluation are realistic simulation or portrayal of the visual environment and reliable measures of human aesthetic response; these are reviewed in the light of current trends in design evaluation and discussed in relation to a case study - a design evaluation of a proposed western bypass of Melbourne.