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Empire Bay: Green Meadows

Started by RickD, February 03, 2012, 03:59:14 PM

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RickD

Crosstown Skyway

Traffic levels in Empire Bay have been rising dramatically every year and all projections predict that it will get even worse. Expected traffic levels will double over the next ten years. Many of the large arterials, especially in east west direction, are over capacity. During rush hour, large parts of the city are gridlocked. Workers coming too late to work, goods being stuck in traffic, ... the congestion is not only an annoyance, it also has negative economic effects.

The Empire Transportation Council recently came up with a plan to relief the traffic situation. They have picked up the relatively new concept of "freeways". Their proposal is to build a network of grade separated, divided, controlled access highways across the city.

32.1

The Crosstown Skyway will consist of a east/west and a north/south route right through the city center. It will be elevated for minimal interference with existing infrastructure. Frequent on and offramps provide access to city streets.
The South Island Parkway is a proposed freeway circling around the city in the south. Some planners are already dreaming of extending it to form a full ring road around the island. Time will tell, if this might be possible some day.

32.2

In the east the Crosstown Skyway connects to East Harbor Boulevard.

32.3

Then it passes over the industrial area. Picard Boulevard there marks the border between the industrial and Res/Com zoning.

32.4

The freeway curves around the city center, crossing Federation Avenue at Griffin Park.

32.5

Broadway is one of two intersections directly serving the city center. Even during rush hour traffic on the freeway is running smoothly.

32.6

In this section in the southern city center the freeway replaced a ground level street.

32.7

Some houses had to be torn down to make room for it.

32.8

The intersection with Grand Boulevard serves the western part of downtwon.

32.9

The State Avenue Connector is the northern leg of the planned north/south route. Construction of the southern half will begin soon.

32.10

The freeway is busy even at night.





FAQ: Why did you use the Maxis Highway and not the RHW?

My goal was to build one of those early inner city freeways that were constructed in the 1940s and 50s in many American towns. These were great for their time but are unsuitable for modern traffic. The lanes are narrow, too many exits too close by each other, sharp turns, short ramps, ... They often are a pain to drive on and an eyesore to look at.
Today many of these freeways are replaced or even removed. The former Central Artery / I-93 in Boston that has been replaced by the Big Dig and NYC's now demolished West Side Elevated Highway are some of the most prominent examples.
Empire Bay will face these problems, too, in the future.

I think that the elevated Maxis Freeway looks more like this kind of freeway. The RHW is too modern for this purpose.

But don't worry, all other freeways in this MD will be RHW.




Replies:

nas-t, Ol.S / Benoit, sim_link, Flatron, Swordmaster, Jeroentje, WannGLondon, Earwhyckque, Dantes, Uzil, solsystem, ivo_su, Paul 999, Schulmanator, vortext, feyss:
Thanks for the comments. I am really glad you all liked my highway.  :)

Quote from: art128 on November 13, 2012, 08:50:20 AM
Fantastic update along this highway, Raphael!

It seems like a small, interesting road to follow by car. All these ferry passage however must be some sort of annoying if you have to make it daily.  :satisfied:

I liked how you worked each ferry cities. Simple and yet very nice.
Thank you Arthur. I got the idea for the ferries during my vacation in Norway. They have them very often on this kind of road. I found it interesting to use the ferries but I guess you are right, I would not want to have this on my daily commute to work.

Quote from: threestooges on November 13, 2012, 09:54:23 AM
Love it Raphael. What's the ferry terminal you used in 31.14? I think, with the parking area there, that it may be one of the more realistic ones I've seen in the game yet. Also, what other bits and pieces did you use to put that area together? It all flows seamlessly. The spacing between the rail and road, as well as the fence lines of 31.9 combine to make a picture which reminds me of a number of right-of-ways I've seen around here. As always, I love your rail lines.
-Matt
Glad you like it. I made the ferryport in Lot Editor. I used mostly WMP and SHK props. The other pieces are from nbvc (on the STEX) and Uki (you can find the link in the Japanese BAT thread). I can't remember who made the small fishing boats. They are japanese, too.

Quote from: MTT9 on November 15, 2012, 10:16:48 AM
Loved the journey trhough SH23. Can't wait for freeways :)
Well, Freeways are here now. Probably not in the way most expected, but anyway.  :P

Quote from: sunv123 on November 18, 2012, 04:11:34 PM
Very nice route you've got there, reminds me of the blue ridge parkway in the eastern United States if you've heard if it before. :)

Great update, I always love transit based ones. :)
No, actually I had not heard of it before but I looked it up on Google Earth and I found some very beautiful photos. This is exactly the kind of road I had in mind and I would love to go on a road trip there. Which reminds me, I have not planned my summer vacation yet.   ;D
My name is Raphael.
Visit my MD: Empire Bay (My old MD: Santa Barbara County)

art128

Quote from: RickDI got the idea for the ferries during my vacation in Norway.

Ahah! I thought so when I saw the update. Exactly like how it is in Norway.


This new update is well made. Your use of the maxis highway is nice. I think it blend well with the city.
I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

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noahclem

#422
I really thought I commented on the last update as I liked it very much! All kinds of great elements and transport coming together into a beautiful update. In this update I understand that you were going for the effect of a very early network of freeways but I don't know that freeways were ever built with lanes as narrow or turns as sharp as MHW features. You are among the greats of SC4 highway builders so I guess I'm holding you to a higher standard  ;)  Looking forward to what's next  :thumbsup:

EDIT: I really should add that for the tools you were using you created a very good look. Those kind of old W2W brick buildings and industrial estates are exactly what the view looks like from the inner, cramped portions of the freeways of cities like Milwaukee and Chicago  &apls

Swordmaster

Wow, that's ugly! I mean, very realistic :)

I digress with Noah; I think you did a very good job representing those terrible urban highways that ended up gone. I would also add Harbor Drive in Portland to that list, by the way. Its removal was the first such in America if I'm correct.

I'm already looking forward to how you're going to redevelop the areas ;)


Cheers
Willy

MTT9

Nice update. It was quite a surprise that you used MHW, but it makes a lot of sense. I look foward to whatever problems that kind of networks brings and how you will deal with those.

The low left corner of 32.1 seams like Empire Bay is about to expand quite a lot... and i love it!
You can call me Matt

Earwhyckque

Great work on the Skyway! Personally, I love the Maxis Highway for its adaptability in dense populated areas, and you managed to precisely use it in the right way! :)

I hope your inner city highways will not be demolished too soon, as they really provide an industrial atmosphere to your city centre. Every realistically built city in SC4 deserves its flaws and aside from that, MHW somehow seems to blend in the best with the scale of most buildings in the game. Good job!

Kitsune

We still have one in Toronto... a small portion was torn down once, but the rest is considered too critical and we don't have room to replace it. And it fits perfectly with your city, you did a excellent job of slicing communities in two.
~ NAM Team Member

WannGLondon

Really enjoyed this update. I really like the organic growth of Empire Bay. I also enjoy how you are making your development realistic, i.e. demolishing buildings to make room for a highway. I do not think I have ever actually done that, it's awesome.
Call me Warren.

nbvc


sunv123

#429
Oh, Very nice! It reminds me of the terrible mistake that I went on when i went to Boston......... :-[

I am so looking forward to seeing you reconstruct the Skyway with RHW and it might be a LOT easier with the upcoming realease of NAM 31 and Project 57. Still, until then, i'll just have to wait.  ;)

P.S., it's a great choice to go there, trust me, and it gets the best during the fall season!
Provo, a city apart Updated July 4.

Reform

I did not expect something like this looking good, when done with Maxis highways. It does fit well in between tightly packed buildings and it also looks good. Are you going to ad some more parking space? That would go visually hand in hand with the new highway.

32.6: Palms look a bit strange in your mountainous region. You could consider a mod to change them to something more fitting. ::)

I am anxious to see how the story of this region continues.

- Ilja  :thumbsup:

Jeroentje

Nice highway! Looks great as always

samerton

I don't read MD's particularly often, but this is incredible! I love the feel of the city, and you've made MHW's look good! :)

io_bg

Fantastic pics, I particularly like the night one - it's awesome!
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solsystem

Great Update!  &apls &apls The night pic is amazing.

apeguy

Another excellent update, I'm amazed at how fast Empire Bay is Growing! :o

I think you've done an excellent job incorporating MHW into your city, and I agree with you for using it instead of RHW for recreating those old US Freeways from the 1940's and 50's, It does the job much better. I look forward to seeing the other highway. ;D ;D

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Ricky112233

Wonderful 3 (I think) updates ya got there!

I really can´t wait to see what will happen next and what the city council is gonna do about those freeways!

Just amazing, once again.  :)

Ricky  ;D
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benedict

#437
Congratulations, your MD is number 4 for the year on BTT!


Edit: and congratulations, your MD was number one on BTT on November 8th. You are also the winner of the birthday month BTT contest! PM noahclem to claim your prize. I think that the admins already took care of your prize.
Click on the banner to celebrate!

solsystem


bat

Nice views of your city. The night shot looks beautiful. :thumbsup: