Winchester

[SCDawg 0]

Another Excellent Update Dan! Salem looks nice, seems like its function is much like Salem, Virginia's function with Roanoke.

Oh, and I take offense to the Dirt Bike racer crack in that one picture. (Even though everyone knows quad racers are better, but I'm not going to go into that, because that would be off-topic)

Anyway, please continue with the awesome updates.

Travis

Edit: Welcome to Page 8!

[bbfan02 23]

Great work! I like the old sign in the beginning of the update. Great city pictures as well!

-bbfan02-

[ky72x 13]

I liked your usage of JBSimio's buildings in Downtown Salem. It's always nice to see a small-to-medium sized downtown with typical buildings in the center, while the outer areas of it are populated with older and smaller W2W buildings. Some people just have modern buildings in their downtowns, but that's not very realistic at all. Nice placement of the churches and schools along the 319 highway. Looking forward to see more!

- Kyle

[kj3400 178]

Excellent update as always. I did enjoy it, thanks. Can't wait to see what's in store for Salem.

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Great use of the old buildings. I love downtowns like that.

[Andronicus22 1]

what a road geek, keep it, and nice college you got there!

[dfnva 34]

PackersFan: I hear you about being busy, luckily I've hit a lull for now. Glad I help to inspire your CJ, I definitely enjoy reading it and get ideas from you as well. Thanks for visiting.

Equlibria: I think you're right about the city hall which is paradoxical to the authenticity of the rest of Salem, thanks for the suggestion.

Travis (SCDawg): Thanks for welcoming page 8. The crack about bike racing has less to do with bike racing, but rather is a goof that I took the picture right after I bulldozed something, but didn't realize it until I was editing the pictures. We'll hope some quad racing goes on in that field instead. 

Bbfan02: Thanks, glad you like the signs and town. I love seeing older looking signs when driving around, like older button-copy signs or cutout shields like Virginia used to have.

Kyle (Ky72x): Thanks, glad you like the small town. I was trying to remember the name of the person who made the small-town bats, thanks for reminding me it was JBSimio.

KJ3400: Thanks, you'll see below some more about proposals to improve traffic in Salem.

Edmonton_Stinks: Thanks, glad you like the buildings in downtown Salem. As per Kyle's response, they're JBSimio's small-town bats.

Andronicus22: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the roadgeekery!

================

Today's mini-update consists of some proposals being made to improve traffic flow through Salem. With major roads like US-84 squeezing into two lanes and other traffic backups, the town of Salem has been working with the Massopax DOT to make improvements.

Click below for a detailed plan of improvements including the separation of US-84 onto one-way streets:

As part of the improvements, new signals would be erected with historical lamp posts. Even route number signage would reflect the new style with the use of small black unisigns, like what Virginia uses extensively around the Richmond area (probably Travis would see a lot of those):

Here's the same shot of Salem sans the proposed improvements:

Let me know what you think about these improvements or if you think of some other ones that you think would be good.

Dan

[Schulmanator 5,787]

A reasonable proposal... does the traffic level justify the 2 one way streets? The grade separation with the rail is a good idea.

[sakarr 1]

i love the driveing theme

very unique =]

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, great new work with the lamp posts! It makes it even better!

-bbfan02-

[PhilsCafe 8]

I like Downtown Salem a lot... I love the small town feel. What I like most was the picture of  the Smith River crossings. The renewal projects sound very interesting.

[kj3400 178]

Great plan. I think it will probably really help Salem in the long run when traffic decides to increase again. Those signals remind me of the signals I saw in the Norfolk area last May. I don't remember seeing the black route signs, though.

[gabry85 2]

Interesting project, looking forward to see its developments.

[edmonton_stinks 5]

That is a great plan. I find one way roads are generally used pretty extensively in downtown areas.

Great job on the suburbs, too. I never realized downtown Salem was that small.

[ky72x 13]

This transportation project sounds (and definitely looks) very intriguing. I'm sure that it'll make Salem's citizens a lot happier in the end. I know I would be very happy to see all those improvements taking place! I can't wait to see how this turns out.

- Kyle

[Benedict 3,119]

I love the detailed screenshot - nice to see how you envision your plans.

[dfnva 34]

Schulminator: Thanks for your comment. Definitely the amount of traffic on US-84 passing through Salem en route to Winchester to the east or the rural areas of the west justifies the one-way streets. You'll see a picture of the bridge over the rail below.

Sakarr: Thanks, glad you've enjoyed the perspective of driving through the region.

Bbfan02: Thanks, I think the lamp posts and new signal assemblies will add flair to the new and improved downtown.

Phil's Cafe: Thanks, I like how Salem is a small town, but surrounded by sprawl on all sides.

KJ3400: I can't remember how signals look in Norfolk exactly, I think they use green poles or something, but I could be wrong. I don't think I've seen those black unisigns there though, they're mainly used in and around Richmond.

Gabry85: Thanks! Glad to see you're supporting Barack Obama!!

Edmonton_Stinks: Thanks, I really liked how you used one-way streets in Port Auburn.

Kyle (Ky72x): Thanks, I think the townsfolk of Salem will enjoy safer conditions, even for pedestrians, after the improvements.

Benedict: Thanks, glad you like the explanation of plans!

========================================================

And now, I shall digress, for a moment. I've been working on my first custom airport and would like show you what I have so far. *Please give me some feedback or suggestions based on what you see as I'm not an expert as far as airports go.*

Some background:

A new airport, dubbed the Mountain View Regional Airport, is being built to effectively replace the obsolete Winchester-Piedmont Municipal Airport. The old airport ineffectively serves business travelers with only one gate and limited destinations. The new Mountain View Regional Airport will have five gates with a proposed addition of five more in the future. The new airport will not only include service to major cities in the state of Massopax such as Alexandria and Easton, but also other major cities in neighboring states.

The new airport has been built with strict environmental guidelines. The building is said to be the epitome of energy efficience. Additionally, all of its power derives from wind turbines on premises. 

And without further ado, some screenshots:

Here's an updated partial region map showing the Mountain View Regional Airport in relation to other points of interest. Notice the new limited access highway, dubbed MP-379, that is being built to connect the airport to US-27/Future I-79.

And finally, here are some pictures of Salem after the successful completion of the improvements proposed in the previous update....

Well that's it for now, I think we're going to move on from Salem finally next time and inch our way up north along MP-319 and check out Smith Lake State Park. 

[Haljackey 17,323]

Very nice dfnva! I like the new brick streets!

Two things I noticed though:

-Your runway should be flat. Have you ever seen a hilly runway at any major airport?

-Your raised ave cannot correctly curve like that with the current NAM. Rails can, but not the ave. I would suggest improving that overpass by making it completely diagonal. Is that overpass functional? (I don't know.)

Best,

-Haljackey

[Shanna 1]

Great work! Interesting transportation project, your city is growing very well!

[kj3400 178]

Is it me or has the Massopax Piedmont grown? The airport and the brick streets in Salem look great, nice job. And now for some constructive criticism. Now I'm not a airport expert, but I think the taxiways need to go at either end so the airplanes have room to take off, and don't have to backtrack after landing. And the entrance seems a little small, but I don't really know what a small airport's entrance looks like. After all, the only airport I know is the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (lol).

[Equilibria 16]

Nice stuff. I'd level that airport, though (literally, not destructively). A sloped runway is fine, but the amount of sloping you have is a little excessive. Or you don't care. Looks good either way.

[ky72x 13]

Very nice airport, Dan. I like its size - appropriate for the area and usage. I would have to agree with haljackey about the runway being way too lumpy. In fact, it shouldn't be lumpy at all. I'd also cut back on those filler lots with the truck and baggage vehicle props, because right now they seem really overused. However, there are a couple things that I really liked, too. Your use of the parking lots and the pedestrian crossing is good. They both make for an interesting and realistic layout. Overall, the MVRA looks great!

Excellent transportation map and shots of Salem's transportation upgrades. It's cool how the US-84 highway splits into the one-way roads and then makes its way through downtown before reconnecting at the Smith River Bridge.

- Kyle

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, excellent detail on both the airport and the map. What program do you use for that? Photoshop?

-bbfan02-

[GreekMan 246]

impressive updates!!!!!

I like the red brick streets!

[AceofSpades 1]

Great work! Salem looks great now!

[edmonton_stinks 5]

The revitalizations turned out great! The airport is well done too.

If you liked one way streets, you'll see plenty of 'em in the next CJ, but that won't be for a while, because I want to make the city before I show it off.

[Simtastico 0]

great airport and your highway system is awesome!

[jacqulina 162]

wonderfull airport and roads system my friend,fantastic work and pics.

[Twenty20 28]

Nice airport and city, but I think your roads needs some terraforming

[asturianu 4]

Hey! Wow, amazing progress in downtown Salem. I like those new red brick paved roads. And the project involving the 84 road was a good idea. I like how the town of Salem has grown and got even better. I can't wait to see what's going into Winchester.

See ya

Cristian