The eastern part of downtown gets a deliberately organic layout with dead ends and turnarounds and few crossings on the arterial. A commercial centre is wrapped in offices to shield future homes from noise, traffic lights give way to yield signs, a dog park, Spruce Meadows (a park doubling as a highway sound barrier) and crematoriums are added, park entrances are tidied with Move It, and the city gains about 3,000 citizens.
What happens in this episode
Last time the arterial roads and the first zones in the eastern downtown went in. This time the goal is to fill that area, with two challenges: keep the arterial road from being broken up by too many crossings, and break up the old grid with something fresh.
How it was built
A new road network
The streets are laid out more or less freely, leaving one stretch of arterial without any new intersection. It’s quite an unusual network for me. Water lines follow in a timelapse.
Offices first
Residential demand was lowest, so the start is offices to answer the industrial/office demand, plus high-density commercial in the middle. The commercial centre is surrounded by offices, which shield the future homes from shop noise. If residents still complain, the commercial centre goes. Space is left for hospitals and schools. Schools, a high school and a central library follow, because offices need educated workers.
Fast growth
The district built up surprisingly fast. Post offices and crematoriums went in, since there’s money to spare. Traffic lights were swapped for yield signs, letting everyone enter the junction. That’s usually my easiest fix for traffic problems, and it worked well. About 3,000 new citizens arrived. New residents started uneducated, which should improve over time. A Japanese-style sauna, a dog park and an extended park with oak trees for consistency followed.
Spruce Meadows
Spruce Meadows goes along the highway as a sound barrier and a nice entrance to the city, with my usual amenities: two cafés, restrooms at each entrance, gazebos. A viewer pointed out that the pedestrian crossings I’d added earlier didn’t line up with the park entrances, so they were moved with Move It for a proper entrance. This is the most organic district so far, with dead ends and turnarounds, and I may build the rest of downtown this way.
Video chapters
- 00:00Breaking up the grid
- 03:47Water lines and an office-first start
- 07:07A mixed centre, schools and a library
- 10:28Post offices, crematoriums, fast growth
- 13:52A dog park and yield signs
- 17:22High-density homes and a sauna
- 21:28Spruce Meadows as a sound barrier
- 24:53Better park entrances
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
FAQ
How do you shield homes from commercial noise?
Surround the commercial centre with office zones — offices tolerate the noise and act as a buffer before the residential areas.
Traffic lights or yield signs?
In my experience, removing traffic lights, letting everyone enter the junction and setting yield signs is usually the easiest fix for a busy crossing.
Why avoid crossings on arterials?
Each crossing slows traffic. Keeping arterial roads intact and serving districts with internal streets keeps the main roads flowing.