What do you prefer, customers 'high' or low traffic?

[KnikkerKoning 0]

I am hestitating what to do. I like it when commercial buildings have 'high' customers but the traffic is sometimes too busy. I have huge public transport in my city (trains/subway) but had low customers. Now I removed all tracks and subway (next to the station, not everything entirely) and I get high customers but congested roads.

What is your oppinion in this matter?

PS: Is there any way to search in the lot and bat files with a category like on sc4devotion? Thanks

[Fatherted 129]

Depends if you want cash and a small amount of customers or no cash and large abandonment of both residential (noise) and commercial (pollution from congestion). I go with subways, tram etc.

[cogeo 960]

Well, this is an easy answer, what every player wants is high customers in the C area and low traffic noise in the R area! This might look controversial at first, but it's actually not. What you have to do is find a proper networks layout. If you have an industrial area (or an industrial city tile, where your sims commute to), you can lay high-capacity networks, eg avenues or highways along their routes, and zone C around them to take advantage of the high traffic (you cannot zone along highways, but you can lay a road parallel to the highway - put some ramps too - and zone lots facng the road; the C zones will see the highway traffic at their back side). R areas should instead be served by low-capacity networks leading to higher-capacity ones - the low-capacity networks should serve only a few houses or blocks and carry no additional through traffic, eg have dead-end streets leading to roads, in turn leading to avenues etc. You can zone C along those higher-capacity networks and expect to get good commercial development.

I have done this in a region I'm developing now, and it has no industry at all, only commercial and civics. Yet I have good commericial development (and "high" customers), even with a low population, eg some 3000 residents. If you are interested take a look at (check the links too, to see pics of my road layout).

Hope this helps.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

This game is really an exercise in problem solving. First you set up the problem, then solve it, which leads to the next problem. The clue is balance, and you will have to experiment to find it depending on the situation you have created. Cogeo has the right of it, but this is a matter of playing and experience.

You want lots of downtown traffic going past your buildings. Well spaced out subway stations will help to encourage pedestrians, especially with the NAM. Subway stations on every corner is not recommended.

To calm the traffic noise in residential areas set up lots of culs-de-sac with strategically located bus transport to elevated rail. Elevated rail can dive into subway as it approaches the downtown area. Parking garages at the EL stations also help.