• Welcome to SC4 Devotion Forum Archives.

Tarkusian Cities (Update 107-08/23/2020-West Chemeketa Reconfig, Part 1)

Started by Tarkus, June 17, 2007, 08:31:07 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

joelyboy911

Cool. Just wondering which canal / pond set you're using?

I do love roundabouts. I see you're an asphalt street fan like me, do you notice that some important textures seem to be missing? I think SAM needs to be updated for road roundabout connectivity. But for now I can live with having to convert to road, or having a concrete patch.
SimCity Aviation Group
I miss you, Adrian

u.mueller

Tarkus: Great update! I always try to emulate your work, but oh boy... Looks awesome!

Joelyboy911: That looks like MAS71's set. Here on the LEX.

io_bg

Guys, this is Jeronij's canal set ;) It's on the LEX.

Fantastic update, I particularly like the maps and the golf course! :thumbsup:
Visit my MD, The region of Pirgos!
Last updated: 28 November

ecoba

Great Update, Alex. I wonder what will possibly happen on Maridia Way, (please tell me I spelled Maridia right). Possibly a widening?

Great to have you back Alex, and let's hope we have that update this week.

Ethan

nerdly_dood

Oh, I just love it when people name streets after me! ()stsfd()

Great update as usual!
My days here are numbered. It's been great and I've had a lot of fun, but I've moved on to bigger and better things.
—   EGO  VOBIS  VADELICO   —
Glory be unto the modder and unto the fun and unto the city game!


bat


Ryan B.

Nice update, Alex.  That roundabout doesn't look out-of-place at all.

JBSimio

Yay, Alex made an update!   :thumbsup:  It's nice to see the extra "before" pictures this time around... I'm interested to see how the upgrades will impact the area.  There seems to be a fair amount of space for widening there, but of course one never knows what could happen when the bulldozers get fired up.

JB


Never trust a god who grins all the time and wears a top hat, that's my motto.  -Terry Pratchett

It's from JBSimio.  Need we say more?  -BadgerBoy of SC4 Devotion

Ramona Brie

At last, an update! And is it pretty!

Edit: I've doctored this part of your map (Orson and Milton in Lenox) to show a more sensible alignment plan.

Before: The fact that Orson Road crosses the rail line twice merely to intersect Milton Avenue is silly...rail traffic thus affects road traffic twice.



After: Orson Road no longer crosses the railway here. Milton Avenue gets a small extension to the realigned Orson.


Battlecat

Nice preview there!  That are certainly does have some traffic issues.  I'll be interested to see how this is solved.

@Tracker:  That's not a half bad idea there.  Certainly two railway crossings like that will severely hinder a major road corridor. 

TmiguelT

Finally You are back !!  &apls

Awesome Update you have there :D... It was a bit small but it was perfect. I love everything on it  :thumbsup:

@Tracker: I like your Ideas... You really are working hard to solve a problem  &apls. I would love to see more of those Replies.

EDGE4194

nice update! i especially like the jrj canal pond- it looks great next to the roundabout.  :thumbsup:

Tarkus

Hi everyone-

Well, as promised, I'm back to respond to the many great comments you've left, including the ones over the past couple updates that I haven't gotten around to yet.  Some of you have asked some very interesting questions and points that I'm looking forward to responding to.

NE 57th Street Extension/Los Endos Blvd Bridge Projects (Update 53)

Arthur (art128): Thanks for the kind words!  I'm glad you agree with my bridge choice there--I was looking for something more on the modern end there.  Also, thanks for the compliments on the overpass and the map--there will certainly be some interesting changes on the latter to show soon.

John (DFire870): First of all, good to see you again!  Thanks for the compliments on the multi-way boulevard, too, and for sharing that tidbit of Central Texas road design.  That sounds like a rather interesting layout, and I'd be curious to see it. :)

Vince (Blue Lightning): Thanks!  I'm glad you concur with the bridge choice (and knew its proper name, unlike me :D), and I agree that the old one was really quite out of place.  It was built before the Tartan area really boomed into its current state.  And TDOT sure loves its bulldozers, too.  They usually are pretty good about compensating land owners when they need to plow through, though.  I think Chick-Fil-A will be getting rather irritated with them before long, though (as you'll see in a future update).

Robin (rooker1): Thanks for the kind words and the constructive feedback--I appreciate it!  :thumbsup: That's a good point about the bridge height there, and I agree it looks a little funny, though I was kind of constrained by the city tile size there, as there's a neighbor connection almost immediately at the end of the bridge.  I might revisit that, though, to see if I can't come up with a better solution.  And I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the construction.  There will certainly be more where that came from. ;)

Pat: Thanks for the kind words!  And to answer your questions, TDOT's still using the same logo, but with some new slogans underneath on occasion--and the slogans are . . . er . . . "context-sensitive". :D  As far as the overpass, it's just the standard 15m height, though judging by the size of that crane, I'd have to think Tim the Toolman Taylor was in charge of selecting the equipment for TDOT.  (Fortunately, he wasn't responsible for operating it. :D)

Battlecat:  Thanks, glad you enjoyed the construction!  And Chick-Fil-A's other Los Endos location is doing quite well.  They're rumored to be looking for another location in the area to replace the restaurant they lost.

Zack (woodb3kmaster):  Thanks for the compliments!  And to answer your question, the county office building was SimGoober's Santa Clara City Hall.

Tomas Neto:  Thanks, I'm very pleased to hear you liked the region!

bat: Thanks for the kind words!  I appreciate it.

Jon (JBSimio): Thanks, I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed the update and that the extension made sense.  As far as putting an exit off of Highway 60 there at 57th, I was considering it, but it would have ended up being too close to the 50th and 65th Street interchanges.  However, TDOT will be starting up a "modernization" project along Highway 60, and they are looking at a few options there as part of the Interchange Area Management Plan (IAMP). 

And thanks for the compliments on downtown--and I think your prediction will come true. ;)

Alex (Driftmaster07):  Thanks--I appreciate it!

Jon (bakerton): It is indeed . . . and now there will be a Fall extension to the construction season, too. :)  Thanks for the kind words, as always!

David (dedgren):  Thanks for the birthday wishes for TC!  It's hard to believe it's been so long.  One of these days I'm going to have to hold a "No Lurkers Day" like you do over at 3RR . . . I suspect you're not alone.

TmiguelT: Thanks!  And coincidentally, I am actually on DSL at the moment. :D  Chick-Fil-A's also going to have to start looking for better locations, too--you'll see why here soon.

Eric (EDGE4194):  Thanks!  And to answer your question, we'll see what happens when TDOT gets around to the modernization project and releases some "design alternatives" for that stretch.

Corey (Nexis4Jersey):  Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the update, and the bridge is indeed a bit low.  Fortunately, it's not blocking any important traffic on the water.  The northern part of Hammerhead Lake is generally used for recreational purposes.

tr0ub1es0me:  Thanks for the kind words, and as Zack (woodb3kmaster) mentioned, that's the MIS from the RHW mod.  If you ever have any RHW-related questions, feel free to ask--I'm happy to help!

Guillaume (Sciurus): Thanks, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the construction!  Plenty more of that to come. ;)

j-dub:  Great observation, and thanks for the interesting suggestion to consider! :thumbsup:  The main issue there is that the 50th/Von Neumann intersection is the easiest way to get to the hi-tech area from Highway 60.  I think that whole corridor there is going to need some further study.  There's a lot of issues with it right now, so TDOT will be busy for plenty of time to come. :D

Big Los Endos Map Teaser (Update 53.5)

Battlecat:  Thanks for the kind words!  Gmapuploader has come in handy for me on numerous occasions with these large map projects, and I'd highly recommend it.  It's relatively simple to use.  I'd like to at some point do something a little more advanced, so one of these days I might have to go spelunking around the Google Maps API further.

Jon (bakerton):  Thanks, and I am too. :)

City Builder: No worries--it's actually a very good question, and thanks for asking!  Basically, what Zack (woodb3kmaster)) said below you.  I'm using SAM Set 3 (Peg Dirt Roads) for my "under construction" purposes.  It can also serve to help grade the area where I want to build a new roadway, though sometimes, when I'm a bit more "non-committal" on steeper slopes, I'll just use the Dirt Road lots in the SFBT Construction Set.  I usually just tear out the Dirt Streets when I'm done, and build the new roadway on blank land, rather than upgrading. 

One of these days, I'll have to do a "Making Of" video, though.

Zack (woodb3kmaster):  Thanks--I'm glad you enjoyed the map, and I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with Gmapuploader. :)  It comes highly recommended.  And thanks for helping answer some of the questions in here, too!   :thumbsup:

Darragh (darraghf): Thanks for the kind words!

David (dedgren): Thanks--and I really take that as a compliment given that you're practically the map-master with 3RR, and certainly my main inspiration in getting into it.  I can't wait to see what you do with Gmap.

Kevin (BigSlark):  Thank you for the very kind words, my friend--and thank you for introducing me to Gmapuploader in the first place, too.  I found out about it when I saw the giant 3RR map link you posted, in fact.

TmiguelT:  Thanks, I really appreciate it!

RickD:  Thank you for the compliments, and to answer your question, that's actually a short little freeway loop.  I haven't gotten around to marking all that yet, but that's Highway 867.  Basically, it connects Highway 60 and Los Endos Blvd to Lindfors International Airport.  I'll have more details to show on it at some point down the road--I'm actually pretty proud of how that little stretch turned out.

Tracker:  Thanks for the all-too-kind words!  Sounds like you're on a good track with those Avenues, too.  Argentum is just saturated with them, and they tend to do the job very nicely, even downtown with all the Stage 11 CAMeLots.

bat:  Thanks--I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Eric (EDGE4194):  Thanks for the kind words!  Now I just need to finish labeling everything. :)

Joan (Jmouse):  Thank you for the compliments on the map!  The bulldozers are getting ready again . . .

gozac123:  Thanks!  And yes, I do indeed have a tendency to name cities, roads and landmarks after prog rock musicians.  Prog tunes as well, in the case of Los Endos.  Being a big fan of that genre of music, and being a fan of sneaking hidden references into things, I can't help it. :D

North Lenox/Maridia Way Tour (Update 54)

Joel (joelyboy911):  Thanks!  And to answer your question, that's jeronij's Urban Canal Set, which I use almost exclusively for my canal and pond building.  I've always liked the look of the OWR roundabouts as well, as they look like the single-lane roundabouts here in Oregon.  And I agree on the SAM end--it would definitely come in handy. :)

u.mueller:  Thanks for the kind words, and I'd love to see what you've come up with at some point.  I always enjoy seeing SC4-related roadgeekery.

Ioan (io_bg):  Thanks for the compliments on the maps and the golf course!  I'm glad you enjoyed them!

Ethan (ecoba):  Thanks, it's good to be back!  And yes, you spelled it exactly right.  As far as a widening goes, that's certainly a possibility.  The big "chokehold" on traffic patterns right now is the Brinstar/Maridia intersection, and Brinstar Road is even in worse shape than Maridia Way, as you'll soon see.

nerdly_dood:  Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for making #800!  It was my pleasure putting Nerdly Lane on the map!

Corey (Nexis4Jersey):  Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the pond!  I have to give Jeroni (jeronij) a serious round of applause for making such an awesome canal set, too. &apls

bat:  Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the golf course and vicinity. :)

Ryan B.:  Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad the roundabout wasn't out of place there.  I was kind of shooting for a "upper-middle-class subdivision with a slightly Euro-inspired developer" look there. :D

Jon (JBSimio):  Thanks for the welcome back and the kind words!  Also, thanks for the feedback on the extended "before" shot concept.  I think I may have to do that more often.   The preliminary plan calls for widening to four lanes between the roundabout and Brinstar--the main issue is going to be minimizing impact on the little bit of commercial space and the forested setting of the golf course.

Tracker:  Thanks for the compliments, and the interesting proposal on Orson Road!  As far as why the road is currently aligned the way it is, I think this picture should explain it somewhat:



If the ground were completely flat and the railroad crossings at-grade, the road would have been built very similarly to what you proposed.  However, Orson Road sits right next to a fairly steep hill, so it would have been very expensive to build a straighter alignment like that.  The railroad has fortunately been elevated, too, so there's not really any pressing safety concern there.  The road curves out farther mainly because the City of Lenox wanted to keep the design speed up, too--Orson has a 40mph speed limit. 

I agree, though, that this corridor might be a good candidate in the future for some sort of realignment improvement if traffic volumes were to increase, though--which they likely will as the area to the south gets developed further. 

Battlecat: Thanks for the kind words--I'm glad you enjoyed the little preview there, and thanks for the input on the Orson alignment as well!

TmiguelT:  Thanks for the warm welcome back, and for the compliments on the update!  Hopefully, I'll have something a bit more substantial to satisfy your road construction diet here soon. :)

Eric (EDGE4194):  Thanks, I'm glad to hear you liked the JRJ Canal Pond! 

I'll be back here shortly with a new update.  We'll probably look at what happens with the North Lenox area (namely, the Brinstar/Maridia intersection), and perhaps even journey north up the freeway to Lenox's northern "rival", Arboris.

-Alex

Battlecat

Ahhh, that makes more sense!  The elevated railway does explain a lot about what's going on in that neighbourhood. 

Ramona Brie

Thanks. That does explain a lot about that alignment, but still, I do see a LOT of freight traffic, which in my eyes makes it all the more feasible to at least widen or do a grade over the steep land.

j-dub

A lot of times in my RL after road widening has been completed, the speed limit may be lowered 5 to 10 mph from what it originally was. &sly I also have to say roundabouts are starting to become more common in my state. For the most part, I think the road ones are okay if its only up to four ways, traffic seems to continuously move through them, even at rush hour, and I don't mean those traffic circles in the middle of a pre-existing intersection. However, avenue roundabouts are a threat. I have seen stop signs finally get put on the ones that are 6 ways, rather then a yield sign, and they just clog up. Seems to be no resolution.

Also, if this was reality, and development is going to hit where I think it is, your going to have a lot of angry tree huggers on your hand.

Tarkus

#897
Hi everyone-

Back with another update here at long last . . . this time we'll be taking a "detour" up to Lenox's northern "rival", Arboris for a larger update, while the City of Lenox gets their engineering plans in place for the North Lenox projects.

But first, replies:

Battlecat: I'm glad it makes more sense now--I'd probably have the same questions looking at that map, too, so I'm looking at ways to better mark overpasses.  You'll see an example on this update's map.

Tracker: You're welcome!  And actually, I only see one large truck in that image. ;)  The traffic using Orson Road is primarily commuters going between downtown and the industrial area at the freeway.  It'll definitely need some work as South Lenox gets more development, though.

j-dub: Speed reductions after widening?  That's kind of counterintuitive, if you ask me.  They usually keep them the same up here, and in some cases, even raise them. 

And fortunately, I think the treehuggers will be relatively satisfied with what will be going on in North Lenox.  Very few trees will be removed under the proposed plan.  Buildinghuggers might want to turn away, and I have a feeling a certain chain restaurant won't be too pleased, either. ::)

___________________________________________________

Now onto the update.  As previously mentioned, we'll be taking a tour of Arboris, a city about 15 miles northwest of Lenox.  The map below will illustrate downtown Arboris and its immediate vicinity.  I've gotten around to naming most of the roads, but there are still a number of roads and features that need to be named . . . ;)



Now for a look around town:

Along 5th Avenue, looking north


A look along the "main drag" through downtown, 3rd Avenue, facing west.  The One-Way cross-street is Pacific Avenue, another important arterial through town, while the Road is SW Balance Street.  Arboris has a mostly alphabetic street name ordering which is divided by Pacific.  The west side, however, oddly omits an "A" street.


Facing south from the large commercial towers at 3rd and Balance.


A mosaic of downtown, facing west





Another major intersection on the south end of downtown, facing south.  This is where Pacific splits into a one-way couplet with Atlantic Street at 6th Avenue.  You can tell the landscape designer who was hired to snazz up this intersection was from Los Angeles.


A look at a close-in residential area downtown, facing north.  This is along SE 5th and 6th, with the road down the center of the pic being SE Caspian Street.


On the north side of the river, south of Montpelier Avenue and east of Atlantic is the Little Italy district.  It was the original "downtown" of Arboris but was damaged by a series of fires in the mid-20th century.  The district has recovered nicely, and most of the buildings have been restored, albeit some were razed for more modern structures.  This pic is facing west.


West of Highway 9 and just south of the river is the old industrial district.  This is along SW 3rd, facing west.


Also looking west, in the vicinity of SW 5th.




The southern end is bounded by the railroad viaduct, along Ridley Road.  This is facing south.


Freeway access to Arboris is relatively poor right now.  This rather nonchalant interchange at Highway 30 and Hudson Street (facing north) is right now the closest access to downtown.  TDOT is planning on redesigning the Highway 9/Highway 30 interchange and this plan will likely include another interchange at 3rd or Pacific.


And finally, a look at the south side of town, which is more suburban in nature.

This is along Pacific Street near 11th, facing south.


One of the major intersections on this side of town is at 17th and Pacific.  Here it is facing north, toward downtown:


And facing south:


Hudson Street turns into Sleepydale Road a few blocks south of Highway 30, where it takes a scenic climb through the hills south of Arboris.
Facing west.


Also facing west.  Note the powerlines running over the road.


This is where the powerlines have come from (facing west).  Arboris has a small turbine farm up on the hill, which is reached by a little access road from Sleepydale.


And that does it for this update--I'll be back with something here relatively soon.  Hope you enjoyed this tour of Arboris!  And we're almost at the big #900 . . . someone will be getting "on the map" shortly.

Edit: The last few images weren't showing up correctly--that's been fixed now.

-Alex

KoV Liberty

Good job!

1. Love the new hghway texture.
2. Love the Avenue Turn lane new texture!
3. Keep up the good work!

My new MD. Check it out if you wish.

Adrian, I miss you man.

ecoba

Great Update, Alex!

And like other Alex said, that's a smashing new highway texture, but don't go too fast with the RHW, or SA won't be able to keep up with Euro Textures.

Arboris is a very interesting city, and I do hope that we will be able to see some more of it. Especially if bulldozers and orange cones are involved! ;D

Ethan