Covington - Update 61 "Chestnut Hills and South River Bend"

[Pat]

Jon that is a massive Rail Yard there!!! WOW!!!! The one mod I would suggest to you is this one here [linkie] it will darken the rail textures and give the well rounded look to them as well....  I personaly love it...  Just a question though will the industry still grow by the elevated road there?? I was wondering and I will look forward to the answer next update...

BTW Jon, welcome to page 5 and only 20 more post to go before coming a best seller!!!

[warszawa]

What an awesome region you have made mate! Stunning work.
I love the abudant usage of transportational devices you have shown us, expecially the railways!

[oldrogue]

Great work Jon.....like the layout very much.....when I build a large rail facility I love to have it surrounded by brick factories...couse I tend to plop most of my industrials, so that make it easier ..... Jestars factories work wonderfully next to those rail yards by the way...... oh, I have to ask....where did you get fantastic roundhouse?   love it love it....
Take care.

Duane

[Jmouse]

Now that, THAT is a rail yard! I'll enjoy watching how the area around it develops. Just wonder how the population figures look now and what you anticipate in the future.

Until next time...
Joan

[thundercrack83]

I agree with Joan, my friend--that is quite a rail yard! And I love the surrounding industry that you have, too, I can't wait to see it when it's fully developed.

Keep up the great work here, and I'll be looking forward to your next update!

Dustin

[JBSimio]

TopCliff:  Thank you!

Matt:  Thanks!  It does stick out a bit right now... but that will hopefully fill in soon.

Pat:  Thank you!  Thanks also for that link... I will definitely be using that when I get back onto my regular computer.  I'm not entirely sure if the zones will work that way or not... it's kind of an experiment.  They did actually grow, although I don't have any commuters going that far just yet, so it's still in testing at this point.

Warszawa:  Thank you!  Hopefully you'll like the transportation devices in this update too then.

Duane:  Thanks!  I love the brick factories... although for an outlying area like this, I'll probably lean more towards the newer warehouse buildings.  The roundhouse is an oldie by Oppie.  It's on the STEX... "roundhouse" should bring it up.

Joan:  Thank you!  The region population is just over 100,000 now.  Not bad considering the majority of that is rural areas.  I'm going for a finished population right around a million with urbanized Covington making up about half of that.

Dustin:  Thank you!

Update Time!

It's finally time to take an early look at downtown Covington.  Let's start with a general overview, shall we?

7.01


Yes, there is still a lot to do here... but I thought that would be part of the fun.  Rather than just show the finished and perfected area, you can watch it fill in and grow as it gets there.  But first, a little of Covington's history.

The city started as a railroad town.  Centrally located in North Carolina, Covington was situated along major rail lines crossing the state.  All these rail lines caused an industrial boom, followed quickly by an influx of passneger rail services.  This made for a rather "inconvenient" arrangement where industry and commercial areas sat side by side and often jostled for space.  The surrounding hills pretty much threw off any attempts at a standard large scale grid, although there are some squared off areas here and there.  The building of the interstate highway system only added to the confusion.

Now, let's get oriented a little bit.  Curving in from the lower left is I-85.  Running past the northern border of the downtown area is I-40.  Freeman Mill Road (US 220) can be seen coming into downtown from the south.  A closer look, you say?  Well sure...

7.02


As you can see, south of downtown is not really the best part of the city.  A number of low rent housing projects fill this area.  Freeman Mill Road is on the left and the termination of Randlemann Road can be seen to the right.  The wedge created by these two arteries is home to some of the roughest neighborhoods in the city.

7.03


Moving north on Freeman Mill Road takes us through the remaining parts of Covington's original industrial area before crossing a mess of transportation networks.  The road deck rises above the rail lines, then over Lee Street (which becomes High Point Road a little further west of here), and finally over I-85 before we finally get downtown.  The original central train station used to sit in this area before the expressway cut downtown off from the tracks.  A new station was built on the west side of downtown near market square.

Like many of the major arteries leading into downtown, this road splits into one way streets here.  There are several other examples of these avenue splits and crossings. 

7.04


Just east of Freeman Mill, we can see another of these more complicated crossings.  Near the bottom of the picture is Murrow Blvd crossing the rail lines before intersecting with Lee Street.  Murrow Blvd basically serves as a loop around the downtown grid.  Lee Street continues east into the tenements we saw a few updates back.  A little further north is East Friendly Avenue crossing I-85 before splitting into one way streets.  Market Square is just north of this crossing... but we'll see that another time.

7.05


Speaking of Friendly Avenue, here is a close up as it enters downtown from the west side.  In this case, two major arteries combine and share the same set of one way streets.  Benjamin Parkway is the other major route on the left.

7.06


Here is a more distant view of Friendly Avenue and Benjamin Parkway on the west side of downtown.  This is the other area we saw a few updates back.

7.07


The major curve the I-85 makes around downtown came into question.  Part of the reason for this was available space and the original rail lines provided an obvious solution.  There were plenty of abandoned warehouses and other former rail services along the lines that were knocked down to make room for the expressway.  This large cemetary also made for a rather large obstacle to a more direct route.  It seems that destroying older buildings is always much less controversial than digging up dead people... who knows why that is?  But that's how it seems to work!   

7.08


Just to the northwest of downtown is the University of North Carolina at Covington (UNCC).  It is bordered on the south by I-40.  Battground Avenue wraps around the east and north sides of the main campus while Lawndale forms the western edge.

7.09


The original and main campus entrance is off of Lawndale.  The campus sits atop a hill overlooking downtown and the historic district along Benjamin Parkway.

7.10


The newest sections of campus are on the east side along Battleground Avenue.  There has been a lot of growth here and these newer dormitories are a perfect example of how the campus continues to expand.  We'll see more of the campus another time...

But for now, thanks for reading!
JB

[threestooges]

My but the elements of the campus seem familiar. It looks excellent and they really turned out well. Good historical note about it looking toward downtown. It's details like that that really make things come alive. The downtown area looks interesting right now, and you're right; it will be interesting to watch it all develop. Quick question regarding the housing project area... so many people, where do they all park, or it is a largely bus-based building? Lastly, great work with the intersections. They look complex and yet, strangely natural and fluid. I particularly like the way the roads are laid out in the 5th pic. Great work as usual.
-Matt

-edit- Congratulations on the OSITM award. Certainly well deserved.

[WillG_75]

Great update JBSimio! I love the University!

[sebes]

Wow JB- two excellent updates to comment on.

The railyards are astonishing realistic - and large! I have tried a couple of time to get realistic large railyards in my region but never with the same result that you show us here. You managed it very well! Especially the first part is to my likings ... but the other three (the maintance area, the loading area with cranes and the refinery (wow!) are also very well made.

The downtown area is a masterpiece as well. Thanks for showing the bare area and giving us the chance to learn how a master will develop the tile  . The transport systems combined in 7.03 is a great picture - I think a lot of us road geeks will agree! - but yet you overdo that in 7.04 with all these bridges and connectors    The large cemetary is a beauty too.

But then the campus - now I have no words left....  I was thinking of starting an MD today, but seeing what you do here makes me humble crawl back in my corner and hide...

[Pat]

Jon that campus looks simply amazing hmmm I wonder where can I find that    Great job here and also I simply loved this little tidbit,

This large cemetary also made for a rather large obstacle to a more direct route.  It seems that destroying older buildings is always much less controversial than digging up dead people... who knows why that is?  But that's how it seems to work!

I could say so much on that one but I will be a good boy and only say is the dead will complain to much if they are disturbed lol...

Pat:  Thank you!  Thanks also for that link... I will definitely be using that when I get back onto my regular computer.  I'm not entirely sure if the zones will work that way or not... it's kind of an experiment.  They did actually grow, although I don't have any commuters going that far just yet, so it's still in testing at this point.

Hey I'm glad you liked that link I sent you in the last update and also I cant wait to see how your experiment plays out!!!! If it works man I wanna know, so I'm not to scared to do it myself...

I cant wait till the next update!!!!

[oldrogue]

Jon, a very nice and fun update...love the "you are there" feel of watching it develope.....I've used the avenue to one way myself....but never as well as you do it here.....think I will have to rethink some areas I've got....thanks for the roundhouse tip.....

Have I missed it?  Do you know where you are going to be after the transfer?   I could go back thru all of your posts....but it's easier to ask here

Duane

[thundercrack83]

Congrats, Jon!



- The Staff

[Ennedi]

Hello Jon,

It seems I didn't comment in your MD yet, but I lurked here several times 
The most impressive thing for me are your regional views - they are incredibly realistic!
I like also the downtown area and railyards - they look very good and I think we will see more development around them 
And the University is perfect! I've been waiting for something like this from a long time, not only me I suppose...

Congratulations for an OSITM award! 

[Jmouse]

First of all, congratulations on your promotion to OSITM!

As for the update, the overview is much appreciated - I do enjoy seeing cities grow from the bare roots. The transport routes look great, the neighborhoods look great and the memorial park looks great. But that university is superb!  Especially like the dorms, but appreciate how well the whole campus is laid out. Just out of curiosity, are any of the buildings functional in that they increase EQ levels? Doesn't really matter, though, because I wouldn't change a thing!

Until next time...
Joan

[paroch]

Hello Jon,

Congrats on your OSITM.  I've not commented here before - apologies.  But I have followed your BAT thread from time to time, so it was nice to see your universtity canvas "in the flesh".  It really does look special.  Your schools are a main stay of my cities, and I'll keep my eyes peeled on the LEX for the university too!

That cemetary is also very special, you've done a great job.

Enjoy your time in OSITM and I'll do my best to pop in more often.

All the best,

Paul

[Pat]

Hey Jon congrats on your promotion to OSITM...  I know when you will update this month it will great!!!

[JBSimio]

Matt:  Thank you!  I thought some of those buildings might look familiar.  I decided it was high time I try them out on a large scale to see how things fit together.  I did notice a couple things I may want to tweak, but overall the "test" is turning out fairly well.  The high rise tenement building wasn't really planned or even expected this early... so I don't really have a good answer for you.  I'm honestly debating how long that building will stay there.  I'm keeping it for now just because I need the population base, but it doesn't really fit with my overall plan... so we'll see.

WillG:  Thank you!

Sebes:  Thanks!  The oil refinery is entirely made up from Citynut's excellent set.  There are so many more pieces I would have liked to use, but there just wasn't room.  This is probably for the best, as I think the current size fits the overall scheme pretty well.  All the bridges you mentioned in 7.04 may be a little bit much when seen like that... I'm hoping that it will fit better as it develops.  My main purpose was to keep away from any at grade railroad crossings through the downtown area and that was the result there mainly because of the Riedsville lines entering from the north.  The cemetary is actually an old Nexis lot (two of them side by side) and some filler pieces around the edges... so I really can't take much credit for that one.

Pat:  Thanks!  I know... it was probably a bit cruel of me to showcase a set that so many have been waiting for.  I hope that when I get resettled, I can finally get that released for you.

Duane:  Thanks!  Certain parts of the downtown area took a long time to get right... especially because of the all the one way splits.  Even then, there are a couple that aren't quite what I had hoped for.  I ran out of space in a couple spots where I needed to shorten the transition to make room for an overpass.  Transfer news to follow...

Dustin:     

Ennedi:  Thank you!  I'm truly honored that you stopped by!  I'm glad so many people like the region views.  I'm really looking forward to having enough of Covinton filled in so I can post a proper view of that part.

Joan:  Thanks!  About the university lots... I won't go into all the details here because the information is buried in my BAT thread somewhere.  But the short answer is that, yes, there are certain buildings that fully function as the standard university would... giving all the similar benefits across the board.  Other buildings and lots are strictly eye candy... and others fall somewhere in the middle.

Paul:  Thank you!  Right now, my major "concern" with the university lots is that the modular pieces make for a lot of open space.  I found it very difficult to place buildings very close together.  This isn't always a bad thing... but it strikes me as an option that I may have overlooked.  (On the same note, I realized that I need some smaller "filler" buildings... things in the 1-3 tile range)  As I said... I can't take much credit for the cemetary.  I just really liked the idea of using a massive open space like that as a border to downtown.  I think as the building heights begin to grow, it will provide a very interesting transition.

Pat:  Thank you again!

Wow!  Well first of all, I just want to say thanks to everyone involved in this MD being moved.  I was very surprised when I came "home" this evening and saw that I was in a new category.  I'm quite honored.  I only hope that I can find enough time during the next month to live up to the award!

Speaking of time... and since it was asked about... I will take a moment to say that I finally do have a destination and moving date.  As of May 15 (or very close to that date) I will become a resident of Napa, California!  I have already found two potential apartments out there and am just waiting to hear back on the applications.  One is by far my preferred choice... the other is much closer to where I'll be working, but still more of a back up plan than anything else.  (It's just a lot smaller and appears to be significantly older and "cheaper")  Once I know for sure where I will be living, I'll be spending a lot of time (and money) on Ikea's website because I no longer own ANYTHING and need to start all over with furniture and whatnot.  So... needless to say, there is a lot going on!

Thank you once again... and I'll try to find a couple "special" things to talk about for the next few updates.

JB

[TopCliff]

Congrats John. You really deserve it. And no way that's fair, you getting to use your own awesome buildings instead of us . . .

[Pat]

Jon and you're quite welcome!!! You desever this month in OSITM!!! btw you are only 2 post away from becoming a best seller, that is once you leave your month in the spot light...  Still waiting patiently for that update 

[rooker1]

Congratulation Jon for being moved to OSITM.  You definately deserve it with this MD and the great pics you have showed so far.  And I agree your regional views are incredibly realistic, which is just how I like it.

Robin