As Westfield's districts merge, it keeps preserving the forest while adding warehouses, office zones, schools and libraries, two new tram circles and its first metro line on dual tracks. A 9 m overpass and new ramp fix a jammed crossing, a tree belt shields homes from the highway, and the career centre gets a baseball stadium with its own parking lot, moved trees and accessible spaces.
What happens in this episode
The parts of Westfield that grew separately are merging. I still try to preserve the forest: train lines and the interstate have to cross it, but nature is something we should all try to keep as much as possible.
How it was built
Warehouses, offices and libraries
A medium warehouse for balanced products went in (one spot was too noisy). Office demand stayed huge, so more office zones were placed carefully without wasting the woods, plus homes, a school and a couple of public libraries, and plazas so the offices keep improving.
Trams in circles
A question I keep asking myself: should circle lines run clockwise and counter-clockwise? I think coverage matters more than direction, so I stick to one direction, as I usually do. Two new tram circles cover the new areas. No trolleybuses for me.
The first metro
The city keeps growing, so it’s time for a metro. Side-platform stations and dual metro tracks in vanilla style run a line out and back through several districts. Some residents complained about the stations, which I don’t understand. Metros offer so much convenience.
A crossing that keeps jamming
One crossing had jammed for a long time, with traffic piling up past the city limits, probably from the new office district. Parking bans, yield rules, no pedestrians and no straight-on traffic helped. A 9 m overpass, a new on- and off-ramp and lane management for the highway merge did the rest. “No rain in this town”: the weather went off again. A thick tree belt along the sound-barrier highway keeps noise away from homes and offices. Trees growing on the highway itself were removed.
Services and a stadium
More childcare, eldercare, a crematorium and yoga parks. The Pleasant Career Center wasn’t attractive enough despite winning its matches, so it gets more coaches, cheerleading, an academic statue and a baseball stadium. The football stadium was even bigger. The trees on the site were moved, not cut, with Move It. A large parking lot with accessible spaces went in, because it’s important that everyone can enjoy the games, and more trees hide the stadium. One last lane fix let drivers go straight again, and traffic moved more easily.
Video chapters
- 00:00Districts merge, the forest stays
- 04:09More offices, schools and libraries
- 08:02Do tram circles need both directions?
- 15:25Two new tram circles
- 19:10The first metro line
- 27:13The crossing that keeps jamming
- 30:45A 9 m overpass and a new ramp
- 34:36Tree belts against highway noise
- 38:31Childcare, eldercare and a crematorium
- 42:06A baseball stadium for the career centre
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
FAQ
Do circle lines need to run in both directions?
I'm not sure it matters much — coverage seems more important than direction. I usually run circle lines in one direction and it works.
How do you add a stadium without losing trees?
With Move It you can select only the trees and move them aside before placing the stadium, then plant more around it to hide it.
How do I reduce highway noise near homes?
Use sound-barrier highways and plant dense trees between the highway and homes or offices.