First a fix: the elevated highway had one slip lane too many, so it's rebuilt and the highway stays four lanes. Then Myrtle district gets its riverside park and Hamilton Park, a quiet neighbourhood park with elder care, child care, a café and gazebos, plus a Japanese garden. At almost 70,000 citizens, Springvalley gets its first airport: a cargo airport next to the highway, with a cargo rail spur and warehouses. I learn the hard way that I didn't need to pay for an airport area for cargo only.
What happens in this episode
Editing the last video, I spotted a mistake in the new elevated highway from Episode 31. Then the parks for Myrtle district, and my first airport.
How it was built
One slip lane too many
The junction had two slip lanes where one already existed. That junction used to serve a different purpose. I delete it and bring the new one up to 9 m, then down to ground level, smoothing the turn. Two two-lane links merge back into the four-lane highway, so it doesn’t need to drop to three. Lane connections get set with TM:PE.
I don’t like interchanges that get too tall. In Cities: Skylines 1 they rarely feel reasonable with the tools available. Other builders make far more beautiful cities by fiddling for hours. My focus is understanding the game mechanics and sharing that, and Cities: Skylines II will be a great moment to dig in again.
Riverside park and Hamilton Park
The riverside park beautifies the shore and should become a magnet for Myrtle residents. Some extra low-density homes fill in nearby. The new buildings here are green, self-sufficient and energy saving, and I love them. Hamilton Park is meant for the neighbourhood, not for maximum visitors, so a one-star park is fine. It gets:
- an elder care and a child care facility, which the district was missing;
- light tree barriers along the road, without fully secluding it;
- a park café, an info booth, a restroom and gazebos;
- a Japanese garden in the only spot without a park, nudged into place with Move It.
Springvalley is close to 70,000.
Why a cargo airport
My biggest open challenge is an airport, which I’ve never really built. A large area inside the planned downtown could take one. The farm and forestry industries make cargo the natural first choice, and the train line could run right in. A passenger airport can wait.
Building it
I painted an airport area (the only zone that costs money), then the cargo terminal next to the highway on an industrial road. It took a while to work out why the airport wouldn’t accept my road: I’d placed it in bridge mode. It gets water, power, plumbing and a cargo rail spur with a smooth curve so trains don’t slow too much. Warehouses go next to it. The first planes landed within minutes, trucks are already arriving, and a one-way road is planned. An on and off ramp will follow.
Lesson learned
For a cargo airport alone, I didn’t need the airport area at all. It only matters for passenger terminals. That’s a learning. Every city builder makes mistakes and builds by trial and error, even the well-known ones.
Video chapters
- 00:00One slip lane too many
- 04:06Why I avoid tall interchanges
- 08:28Still learning, and the riverside park
- 14:00Hamilton Park with care facilities
- 18:05Café, gazebos and a Japanese garden
- 22:08Choosing the next project: an airport
- 26:10Airport areas and the cargo terminal
- 30:27Roads the airport won't accept
- 35:14A cargo rail spur
- 39:36First planes and trucks
- 44:00Lessons from my first airport
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
FAQ
Do you need an airport area for a cargo airport in Cities Skylines?
No. In my experience the paid airport area only matters for the passenger terminal setup. A standalone cargo airport works without it.
Should a cargo airport have a rail connection?
Yes. A cargo rail spur lets goods move between trains and planes without trucks crossing the city.
What makes a good neighbourhood park?
It doesn't need to be a five-star attraction. Paths, a café, an info booth, restrooms, gazebos and services like elder and child care make it useful for residents.