Roads play an important role in our daily surroundings and provide access to landscape. Views from the road create the first impression about the country. It is important to pay attention to the landscapes along the roads used by tourists. The purpose of this study was to obtain general overview of the current state, identify existing and disappearing features of the road landscape in Latvia. Research on road landscape perception and design is well developed in the USA and some countries in Europe. The assessment of the current state and proposals for the road landscape development in Latvia are fields which are little discussed and need more attention. The research was carried out in several sections of the main roads and some sections of regional and local roads in July and August, 2011 and August, 2012. Photography method was used. Analysis of the results shows that the main reasons of aesthetic quality loss in road landscapes is lack of planning and management, indicating the necessity to find ways for rural landscape quality enhancement.

Road landscapes can be considered important resources for place development. They create impression about the infrastructure of places and transport, which is an important aspect of attracting investment and tourism development. Yet this field of landscape planning and design is hardly studied and needs more attention in Latvia. Institutions at different planning levels and from several fields of expertise are involved in road landscape development. In order to achieve successful cooperation among all the parties involved, it is necessary to reflect the information about road landscape development in the way that it can be easily perceived and understood. Studies in landscape perception prove that people perceive visual information about landscape design and planning better than textual information and regular maps. The purpose of the paper is to introduce with a method of three dimensional (3D) road landscape modelling, developed by authors as a tool for road landscape design aesthetic evaluation, which can be used to demonstrate design variants to wider public and stakeholders. We demonstrate what kind of data are necessary for road landscape modelling, how they are obtained and processed, why certain modelling programs are chosen. The methodology, problems, which occurred during the modelling, and the chosen solutions are described. Results show that chosen methodology is appropriate for large scale projects. The experience gained from the project helps to evaluate the suitability of certain computer programs for road landscape planning and design.

United States of America and European countries like Great Britain, Germany, Norway have long traditions in the development of scenic roads, special scenic routes for tourists, National Scenic Byway Programs. They have set criteria for road landscape planning and design, discussed the economic value of scenic roads. Scenic roads are also important for tourism, as well as visual and cultural countryside development in Latvia. Planning regions and regional communities in Latvia have strategic development plans and spatial plans. All of them include high value landscapes and protected, scenic territories. Some scenic roads are defined in these documents, but criteria for scenic road designation are set in every region individually. There are unlisted roads with high aesthetic value which could be protected. Common methods, criteria for the assessment of road landscapes and scenic road designation in Latvia are not developed. The aim of the research was to evaluate and understand the present situation of scenic roads in Latvia. An online questionnaire was carried out in order to find out peoples’ opinion about the road landscape quality. Spatial plans of regional communities and planning regions were examined. A field study of two sections of scenic roads was carried out. The research project was carried out from December 2014 to December 2015. Results show that current road landscape has a potential for development, and it needs improvements. The study gives a general insight into the scenic road situation in Latvia and provides basis for further research on scenic road planning and management.