Winchester

[WillR116 60]

nice

glad Bush is outta office

[suplado! 23]

really cool signage, i like the cool airport as well, awesome work with the roads and congrats on your trixie...

[Benedict 3,119]

Another interesting update with some fun signs (Kiss 'n' Ride). Good stuff as always!

[rainyday 2]

Your airport is looking great

[PhilsCafe 8]

I shouldn't have been 'worried' about a road geek doing an airport... loads of signs . I like the layout of the commercials and roads near the airport, very realistic. It makes me wanna go on a trip by plane right now... I like that airport feel which you carry over very well with those signs.

Nice pun about the Kiss and right btw... lol.

- Phil

[packersfan 666]

Hilly airport...i've always wondered how "flat" airports are

[ironicepitome 0]

i think the airport is fine. sure a couple (hundred) people might die, but without it, theres no fun in flying

[Hawkeye9 0]

Hmmm... I dont think im going to want to be flyin in to Mountain View Regional Airport any time soon (well at least untill they flatten out the runway). No but seriously, great airport and i especially love the signs!!!

Lookin forward to future updates!!!!

[Follarch 326]

Good work on the tour. And to everybody on here saying, I do believe he did that airport deliberately so the joke would be concrete. lol

[Equilibria 16]

I kind of like the realism of sloped runways (many inland airports have runways with frighteningly noticeable slopes). I also enjoyed the spur highway from the interstate. Why no interstate designation?

[djf3591 1]

i like the update, keep up the fine work

[TmiguelT 10]

Awesome approach to the airport. keep up the great work my friend.

[dfnva 34]

BREAKING NEWS

All questions regarding the unlevel runways at Mountain View Regional Airport will be tabled until the end of the update....

WOW! 20 Comments! That's a record! And 25 Pages! Thanks Everyone!

Ecoba: Thanks!

Raysfan16: LOL. The kiss and ride is the lane right next to the terminal for dropping off. As for the parking lots, I used puzzle pieces that I downloaded. Can't remember off the top of my head what they're called, but if you look up parking on the STEX, you'll probably find them. And thanks for making your 200th post here!

Schulmanator: Thanks! I felt an airport update would not be complete without some good signage. I can only hope the signage inside the airport is as good. As for the wind turbines, this is a high-tech environmentally friendly airport, well, except for the airplane emissions...

Chrissc94: Thanks, while the ramps look confusing, they work seamlessly to get one to where they need to go fast. That's my specialty. 

DeathtoPumpkins: Thanks, glad you liked the airport vicinity.

Computerguy890100: Thanks!

Haljackey: Thanks!

Edmonton Stinks: Thanks, glad you like the logo. Nice to see you back!

SimsAmerica: Thanks... Hallelujah to that. As I say, it's good to have an American president who can speak English.

Suplado: Thanks much! Congrats on your Trixie as well, it is well deserved.

Benedict: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the update.

Rainyday: Thanks!

PhilsCafe: Thanks, glad you like the signs and development. I thought it would be good to have those hotels and restaurants nearby in case of jet lag.

Packersfan: I think most airports are pretty level, but this is a fairly hilly area.

Ironicepitome: Ha... we'll see about that a bit later in this update.

Hawkeye9: Thanks, and we'll see about a higher authority taking up your concerns.

Archean: Thanks! And as far as the airport, we'll see what happens later in this update!

Equilibria: Thanks. Glad you noticed that fact that 379 is a state route...MP-379 was not built as an interstate because of (1) lack of federal funds and (2) unwillingness of the feds to pay for an interstate to a regional airport. Nonetheless, the state of Massopax paid for it with bonds and is considering adding some tolls.

DJF3591: Thanks!

TMiguelT: Thanks, glad you liked the update.

And now...

We'll begin by heading north out of the airport area along MP-39/Hanson Trail. Here, we pass by some more requisite hotels and restaurants for hungry, tired, jetlagged, and hungover airport travelers. 

Continuing north, MP-39 slims down to two lanes as we pass some industrial areas and Aviation Drive which is the access road for airport workers. 

Temporarily, things begin to look more rural. SR-3043/North Airport Drive is a connector between MP-39 and SR-630, which runs to the east of the airport.

 

Some newer houses built in the last five years with some lakes.

As we in closer to the Winchester City limits, we pass Southview Park and the private prep school known as the Deveraux Academy.

Once again, after SR-733/Borden Rd, MP-39 slims down to two lanes. I can see a possible widening here in the future, possibly all the way down to the airport. Here we pass a more-established residential area.

We pass some industrial warehouses, including some abandoned ones, a sign of the times. MP-39 widens to four lanes here for good.

And then we see not one, but two signs for the next intersection which is a fairly major one.

At this intersection, we cross into the Winchester City limits and MP-39's name changes to S. Jefferson Ave. MP-116 is a 4-lane road through much of southern Winchester while SR-652 crosses SR-630 in McNeil and is mostly rural. Of note at this intersection is Southpark Shopping Center which has seen better days.

This signal assembly is so massive, with a lot of signals, that I had to shrink the picture to fit. Notice a mixture of some older signals and newer ones when a second left lane was added.

Now in Winchester, our last screenshot today shows more of the Southpark Shopping Center, our subject for my next update, as we cross East Mill Rd, which serves an industrial area.

This pole has seen better days. Obviously it predates the 1990s-era signals (and brand-new doghouse signal) on the span wires.

But before the end of the update, we have this special message from President Barack Obama!!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, It has come to my attention that my predecessor's misguided efforts included the building of substandard runways at Mountain View Regional Airport in the great state of Massopax. To save costs, President Bush approved the airport despite concerns from transportation officials. As a result, I am directing $2 million from the Stimulus package to be used to make the runways level at Mountain View Regional Airport before a destructive calamity happens."

Sounds good to me...

Hope you enjoyed the update and thanks for visiting.

-Dan

[packersfan 666]

Nice suburban house, yuck. How did you get them to grow...it is hard to get what you want to grow in certain places.

[Schulmanator 5,787]

I hope the repairs can be done before there is a disaster.

[jimbo_jj 1]

No one's immune to the times, not even here. Great work outlining the networks. Just love travelling. It's nice to see that the president is taking an interest in the local issues!

[deathtopumpkins 43]

Nice drive, Dan. Excellent signage, and some depressingly realistic abandonment.

Nice to hear something's being done with the runway too!

[Raysfan16 5]

Hey, that update just made my day. It's good to know that Obama gave them money to fix the airport.

Nice drive and signs, can't wait to see more!

[SounderBruce 173]

OOh...nice...especially the Obama thing...

[mnmsimmer 0]

Looks very authentic American-suburban. I really like the houses around the artificial lake.

[Hawkeye9 0]

Very nice drive Dan!!!

Glad to see we finally have a President who knows what he's doing!!!

Great Update and ill be lookin forward to your next update!!!

[chrissc94 1]

Glad I'm paying my tax dollars in Indiana to fix an airport in Massopax! Great update!

[suplado! 23]

wow -- the shopping centre looks nice and the location near the border is very nice as well

[Benedict 3,119]

some good signs there, and another nice showcase of parts of your region.

[WillR116 60]

hey, I actually kinda liked bush dude, i was joking around , nice update though, even if im a republican.

[antsel 841]

What a great region! I really like the variety you offer us, from rural landscapes to urban cityscapes. Really like your use of highway signs, very creative! Your airport is quite stunning too. Great city-building style, it looks really good!

[ironicepitome 0]

awwwww, but destructive calamitys are what makes flying fun. it sprinkles the spotless saftey record of an airline with the fun stuff from a cows behind!

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Probably a good idea to fix those runways. I wonder if Southpark's failure was also Bush's fault?

[dfnva 34]

Packersfan: As they say in real estate...Location, Location, Location! lol. Actually, for upper-middle class type homes it's about drawing the correct size of zone and surrounding them with parks and trees. And lowering the taxes a lot doesn't hurt either, something liberals like me do begrudgingly.

Bruce (Schulmanator): Definitely, would be a sad shame if an airplane crash or other calamity happened.

Jimbo-JJ: Thanks! Stimulating the economy and undoing the evils of Bush are good way for the President to start off.

DeathtoPumpkins: Thanks. For some reason, I like having areas get abandoned in SC4 as its a dose of reality like many areas in RL. 

RaysFan16: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the update.

ComputerGuy890100: Thanks. Obama is awesome. I got to see him in person three times. 

Mnmsimmer: Thanks. Having lived in American suburbs most of my life, it's something I like to emulate.

Hawkeye9: Thanks. That's an understatement, re: a President who knows what he's doing. Then again I've got to give Bush credit somewhere. One of my favorite quotes of his: "I hope you can put food on your family."

Chrissc94: Thanks. Despite being a liberal, It makes my stomach turn knowing how lots of my tax dollars are wasted. 

Suplado!: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the update.

Benedict: Thanks much!

SimsAmerica: Thanks... I still got love for the republicans. Many friends of mine are republicans. I watch Joe Scarborough's "Morning Joe" every morning for my morning news. Then again I watch Keith Olbermann every night... 

Selles: Thanks! Glad you like the region. That's what I like about doing a medium sized town, you've got urban areas but still rustic areas as well. As far as signs... I'm a roadgeek, got to have that!! Next time I have a region map, I'm going to try some of your ideas.

Ironicepitome: I finally figured out what your name is after staring at it blankly. lol. Ironic Epitome. Luckily the only calamity has been food going in someone's lap. George W. Bush would be proud.... putting food on your family.

Edmonton-Stinks: LOL. If I could blame everything on Bush I could. However, I will give him a break on this one...

And now....


Any medium-sized city is bound to have it's run-down areas. While not all of it is destitute, South Winchester does have a stigma attached to it.

Southpark Shopping Center on MP-39/S. Jefferson Ave once boasted a Kroger, Barnes and Noble, and other chain stores of various varieties. Now it is mostly vacant and a hangout for the local gangs.

As seen here, Ross Dress for Less still survives and an International Market has filled the void where Kroger once stood.


lronically, the Circuit City here hung on until the very end. Petland is having a store-closing sale while the Radio Shack barely stays in business with all the robberies.


The only major success in this center is S-Mart (a Massopax-based chain, analogous to K-Mart/Walmart/Target) which pulls in good business, one of their more profitable locations. 


A lot of nearby houses have foreclosed in a tough crime-ridden neighborhood.


Next time, we'll continue north on MP-39 and cross the Wanata River into downtown Winchester.

In the mean time.... crews are working hard at Mountain-View Regional Airport...


Thanks for visiting.

-Dan

[deathtopumpkins 43]

Wow... Pretty cool abandoned shopping center... We've got a few similar ones around here.

And yay, leveling of the runways!