Best road layout help

[gregcarter304 0]

I couldnt find any other threads about this, so I apologize  if itys posted in the wrong area.

I cant for the life of me get a good road layout to keep from getting traffic jams at just 150k pop....its always gridlock.

any help would be appreciated. thanks

[AlpineSnow 0]

Try putting together a strong back bone of avenues. Zone most of your buildings onto roads--feeding into the avenues. Sort of like a typical suburban neighborhood with dozens of homes feeding their traffic into only two outlets. The reason you want to try your best to prevent zoning on avenues is because each lot acts as though a "mini intersection". Cars stop to get in and out each lot and with enough lots on an avenue, they will choke the roadway. Also, I've had better success ensuring there are more than two avenues transporting traffic from Residential to Industrial. With only two routes, it can be a struggle sometimes. Also try to prevent bottlenecking your traffic into only a few spots; T intersections seem to be very successful in countering this. 

[DJQuad 1]

I couldnt find any other threads about this, so I apologize  if itys posted in the wrong area.

I cant for the life of me get a good road layout to keep from getting traffic jams at just 150k pop....its always gridlock.

any help would be appreciated. thanks

 

Search for some Let's Plays on YouTube. 

[JokerM6 0]

I have also the same problems with traffic.

Can´t one you good players without traffic jams upload a video on youtube so we can se how to a proper road layout.

I have searched and searched for videos but there´s non.

 

Help us please 

[Noobi-Wan 22]

I have also the same problems with traffic.

Can´t one you good players without traffic jams upload a video on youtube so we can se how to a proper road layout.

I have searched and searched for videos but there´s non.

Help us please

Have a look at skyestorme's channel on YouTube. It helped me no end, it is full of 60 second tips and other goodies to help you get the most out of the game.

Let us know how you get on!

[JokerM6 0]

I have also the same problems with traffic.

Can´t one you good players without traffic jams upload a video on youtube so we can se how to a proper road layout.

I have searched and searched for videos but there´s non.

Help us please

Have a look at skyestorme's channel on YouTube. It helped me no end, it is full of 60 second tips and other goodies to help you get the most out of the game.

Let us know how you get on! I have loooked, but unfortunately I couldn't find any good video for how to do a proper road layout.

He is talking about city entrance, how to do curves, hexagons and so on.

It would be so nice to see a video with a town "fully" grown and also explains why the road layout is on that specific way...

[Darmok 34]

Here's a good place to start...

There are several good ones

 

[g5todd 5]

I just snake one long Avenue and then upgrade it to a street car avenue....the only intersection I have is where the highway comes into the city...this method works very well because traffic always flows so fire police and all my services can get anywhere in the city fast cuz traffic doesn't have to stop for red lights

 

click on the image below u will get the drift from my crude paint sketch

 

 

with this layout if you follow the guidelines a population of 600k is easy with low wealth

 

once you play with it, its almost like playing tetris with getting stuff to fit in perfectly without wasting space

[g5todd 5]

[Griffon 19]

I've been following this topic for a while seeing if anyone would have any good ideas.  I haven't watched the video yet and haven't seen any good layout ideas yet either.

 

First off I'd like to tell @g5todd that I don't see how his idea would work.  It seems like the whole city would be in one big traffic jam especially at 600k pop.  Also it is kinda easy to have a city with 600k if you only use low wealth residential in your cities but most people want commercial, industry, as well as medium and high wealth people in their cities.  I can see how the layout would be more effective if you flip it so the avenue coming in the city is much longer and you use an overpass anytime it passes that avenue (which should only be one).

 

Anyways this is what I use:

I use the grids in the game and I make them the size of 2x2.  I've noticed if you start on the avenue the grids are bigger so I make one low density road (or dirt road) following the grid around the outside from the city and make my grids off that road.  I make the road an avenue every third road in both directions and the first two roads intersecting the avenue coming in I make into overpasses.  Hope you're following me so far.

 

As far as what you put in the city, before the expansion I placed one big high wealth park with two of the biggest park expansions added to it.  That generates all the high and medium wealth you usually need in the city.  I make 3/4 of the city residential (including commercial) and 1/4 industry (including your specialization).  I'd also add every type of mass transit.  I got around 300k to 400k pop and traffic wasn't bad (it wasn't that good either).

 

With the expansion I use the same ratio of residential to industry but the megatowers provide all the medium and high wealth spots in the city you need (probably more medium wealth than you need).  Megatowers also provide you with extra population and jobs if you use the strategy I described in the 

(you basically mix wealths in towers and one office in every tower with a park on top).  The only mass transit I ever use is the MagLev.  With that strategy I usually get between 300k and 500k (depending on weather I have more high wealth or low wealth).  I don't have hardly any traffic problems with this strategy.

 

Tourism cities are a little bit different, but I still use the same grid layout.

 

Another tip I can give is to make sure the cars in your cities make as little left turns as possible.  You'd most likely have to use overpasses to make this happen.  Most cars get hung up on left turns so by making the roads bend so that you force them to either go straight or turn right you have less traffic jams.  

 

Hope that helps.

 

[DJQuad 1]

I have a short list at http://djquad.com/interesting-simcity-road-layouts

[Noobi-Wan 22]

The problem with trying to recommend the best road layout is that it largely depends on the type of city you are trying to create and where you are trying to build it. Different terrain can scupper different builds.

For a balanced RCI city I have found that it is more important to focus on the travel times for residents getting to work in the factories. Using tunnels or bridges to make direct routes into your industrial zones for a particular set of residents is quite effective. I tend to use grids for this sort of city as it is easier to judge where everything needs to be. Also I don't really attempt this on a map that isn't flat, cliffs and hills can cause problems.

For cities with a specialisation my layouts are normally dictated by the resources or proximity to the highway entrance or water. Due to the fact that the specialisations rely on free flowing traffic to keep trade going or to keep tourists piling in you need to be a bit more careful with road placement. I have found that electronics and gambling can be done on a grid but mining and drilling tends to be far more fluid to fully utilise the resource that is there.

Given this these cities can be built on pretty much any map but your priority has to be getting trade trucks/delivery trucks to their destinations as quickly as possible to maximise trade and resource delivery which in turn minimises the factory down time and maximises profits.

In summary I have personally found that it is more important to think about the end goal of the city whilst building it and let that dictate your road layout rather than the road layout dictating the final result of the city.

[g5todd 5]

I've been following this topic for a while seeing if anyone would have any good ideas.  I haven't watched the video yet and haven't seen any good layout ideas yet either.

 

First off I'd like to tell @g5todd that I don't see how his idea would work.  It seems like the whole city would be in one big traffic jam especially at 600k pop.  Also it is kinda easy to have a city with 600k if you only use low wealth residential in your cities but most people want commercial, industry, as well as medium and high wealth people in their cities.  I can see how the layout would be more effective if you flip it so the avenue coming in the city is much longer and you use an overpass anytime it passes that avenue (which should only be one).

 

Anyways this is what I use:

I use the grids in the game and I make them the size of 2x2.  I've noticed if you start on the avenue the grids are bigger so I make one low density road (or dirt road) following the grid around the outside from the city and make my grids off that road.  I make the road an avenue every third road in both directions and the first two roads intersecting the avenue coming in I make into overpasses.  Hope you're following me so far.

 

As far as what you put in the city, before the expansion I placed one big high wealth park with two of the biggest park expansions added to it.  That generates all the high and medium wealth you usually need in the city.  I make 3/4 of the city residential (including commercial) and 1/4 industry (including your specialization).  I'd also add every type of mass transit.  I got around 300k to 400k pop and traffic wasn't bad (it wasn't that good either).

 

With the expansion I use the same ratio of residential to industry but the megatowers provide all the medium and high wealth spots in the city you need (probably more medium wealth than you need).  Megatowers also provide you with extra population and jobs if you use the strategy I described in the 

(you basically mix wealths in towers and one office in every tower with a park on top).  The only mass transit I ever use is the MagLev.  With that strategy I usually get between 300k and 500k (depending on weather I have more high wealth or low wealth).  I don't have hardly any traffic problems with this strategy.

 

Tourism cities are a little bit different, but I still use the same grid layout.

 

Another tip I can give is to make sure the cars in your cities make as little left turns as possible.  You'd most likely have to use overpasses to make this happen.  Most cars get hung up on left turns so by making the roads bend so that you force them to either go straight or turn right you have less traffic jams.  

 

Hope that helps.

 

It works...its the most efficient traffic layout...and the reason it is the best is only having one intersection.  Traffic flows so efficiently you don't need as many garbage trucks / recycling trucks / police cars....

 

 

Why not try it rather than just say *grumpy old man voice* "I don't see how it could work"....

 

The paint diagram is just an example so people got my drift of having just one intersection.....it could be laid out anyway you want...I just try to maximize space and lay it out depending on what way the wind is blowing....

[Griffon 19]

It works...its the most efficient traffic layout...and the reason it is the best is only having one intersection.  Traffic flows so efficiently you don't need as many garbage trucks / recycling trucks / police cars....

 

 

Why not try it rather than just say *grumpy old man voice* "I don't see how it could work"....

 

The paint diagram is just an example so people got my drift of having just one intersection.....it could be laid out anyway you want...I just try to maximize space and lay it out depending on what way the wind is blowing....

 

I just said I don't see how it would work since every single car and truck would be on one stretch of road.  The service vehicles may be more efficient that way.  I never said you were wrong and I never said my way was the best (it mostly likely isn't and I know it, but it's the best way I found for my own cities).  The way I see it is that all the cars would be stopped on that one intersection backing up traffic throughout the city.  I also imagine the garbage trucks would get part of the way through the city fill up and have to dump it but have to got all the way through the city to get back to the dump (since you mentioned the garbage trucks).  I also suggested that from experience the avenue coming into the city needs to be as long as possible and that by flipping the design around to make that avenue longer would make it more efficient.  If that way works for you then that's awesome.  I might try it next time I play SimCity.  My internet hasn't been reliable lately (probably from the weather) so I've mostly been using the internet on my phone to get on the forums to read and reply.  If you wouldn't mind a picture or a video of the busiest rush hour would be nice (I understand if you can't do this) and I'm sorry if I offended you in any way.

 

EDITED:  I do realize I said I didn't see any good ideas yet so you could just tell me I'm wrong without insulting me.  I did like what @Noobi-Wan said.  That it is difficult to recommend one standardized layout that will work everytime with every city.  I agree since one city is very different from the next even if it's the same map and same specialization.  

[g5todd 5]

don't be so sensitive....I don't see an insult anywhere in my post...

 

I agree the longer the avenue coming into the city is the better...however its not always possible if you have trying to maximize space.  I will try to get a video up but it will be me recording it on my phone and uploading it to youtube

[g5todd 5]

To much effort to video and without a host I am limited to size...but here is an example of a city I made with this method...

 

only one intersection in this city and it is a T intersection....4 traffic lights 3 of them are where my street cars leave the stations....if you play with it enough its almost like playing tetris putting placeable buildings in where u can maximize empty space....

 

You can do the same thing and curve the roads and traffic will flow even better but it takes more time if you are anal about how it looks

[Noobi-Wan 22]

Seeing the layout in action shows it's a really straight forward solution to the problem. Well done, I like it!

[Griffon 19]

To much effort to video and without a host I am limited to size...but here is an example of a city I made with this method...

 

only one intersection in this city and it is a T intersection....4 traffic lights 3 of them are where my street cars leave the stations....if you play with it enough its almost like playing tetris putting placeable buildings in where u can maximize empty space....

 

You can do the same thing and curve the roads and traffic will flow even better but it takes more time if you are anal about how it looks

Nice job, it actually does look really good.

[tnobles 38]

To much effort to video and without a host I am limited to size...but here is an example of a city I made with this method...

 

only one intersection in this city and it is a T intersection....4 traffic lights 3 of them are where my street cars leave the stations....if you play with it enough its almost like playing tetris putting placeable buildings in where u can maximize empty space....

 

You can do the same thing and curve the roads and traffic will flow even better but it takes more time if you are anal about how it looks

Now, that's interesting! I normally don't build avenues or only one. May want to reload the game and try this.

[Solo_Varak 0]

Hi ,I hope this pic works i have never uploaded one before ,This works for me ,i have thrown everything at it with no worries so far, its not my best setup but this one works a treat for me ,in a roundabout way ,lol ,lame

Cheers

 

[Solo_Varak 0]

Whew it worked ,lol

Here is a 1 entry one ,these cities were built to unlock as much as possible and make moula ,1 entry city works much better

All 18000 rubbish picked up and never a factory running out of supplies

Hope it helps

Cheers

[rge 0]

I have 21 million pop in 1 of my regions, most cities between 1.2 and 1.7 million pop, and just use normal grids.   Easy to build a 1 million pop self-sustaining balanced RCI without traffic issues, using grid with all normal intersections, if pattern and balance of RCI works well with the agent system.  

 

Streetcars and mixing RC will keep traffic from causing issues, even with 1 million pop.  Using streetcars, just have to realize sims are randomly dropped off, hence patterns must

allow random drops to work.  

 

At 600k pop, most traffic is green with some yellow, with below layout of single city, see pic (only difference is at 600k-1Mk I still had balanced RCI, along a street grid was 2R 2C 2R, instead of now see 5R, and industrial along edge where megatowers are).  At 1 million pop, I get some red traffic at rush hours, but all my buildings are maxed green (which is 82-85% happiness high density, and 95-99% low/med density).

 

T sections, few intersections vs regular are just different tools, what matters is keeping majority of sims from driving by having good patterns for RCI mix, which is vital.

 

Here is pic of my city, was self sustaining 1 million pop mixed RCI, til I got bored and destroyed CI and replace with R in all my cities to see how many sims could cram in a region, now its 1.7 million mostly R, and region pic with 21 million.  But have to design a 1 million pop self sustaining happy city, to be able to get to 1.7 million mostly R.

 

 

 

[migamin 38]

I will give my two cents to that topic.

 

There is no perfect road layout (what does perfect mean btw?). It totally depends on what you want to do! Unfortunatly the game itself does not provide any proper road design. I was caught up in jams using the guides the game provides. After two weeks of playing i decided to search for mods. Watched youtube vids and so on like you do. Got the perfect road guides mod of skye...which isn't perfect at all! But it helped me, to figure out what could help anybody.

 

So anybody: try using and you will have less problems solving traffic issues.