Santa Barbara County

[comdude21 6]

This is one of my favorite CJs, and many of my other favorites are also re-creations of real cities. Santa Barbara is coming along great. All of the detail involved in this CJ really helps. Also, I really like those transportation maps.

Nice job.

[bobinator 0]

I like how your freeway looks when it crosses those train tracks in the piture above!

[davidhogan 1]

Date: 2/16/2005 7:48:39 PM
Author: bobinator
I like how your freeway looks when it crosses those train tracks in the piture above!

quote>

I'm really happy it came out like that also - I spent a good 30 minutes working on that interchange to get it just right - then SC4 crashed.

Another 25 or so minutes later, it was done the second time, and saved before I even took a screenshot.

It's better that SC4 crashed really, since the first time looked much sloppier.

Other News - Santa Barbara County Crews and CalTrans held an opening ceremony for the final part of I-1 that has now been fully upgraded to Interstate Standards, meaning they can start removing the Future signs!

There's also been rumours of a small Naval outpost being opened up somewhere in West County over the next few years. Local residents are excited about the jobs, but worried for the small town atmosphere they've preserved for this long.

At some point I'll start to show off some of the Valley Towns I haven't yet started. (I've only worked on the coastal areas so far, there will be inland farms and mountain towns too. I'm needing a break from the suburbs soon too.)

Thanks!
Dave

[davidhogan 1]

Westview Becoming a Shopper's Paradise



Westview before I-1 was completed and just a Temp route. The rail line was also moved somewhat and re-constructed to accomidate I-1 and reduce the curves in the track.



Some of the I-1 upgrades were paid for by local developers, who were allowed to build on excess land purchased for the freeway expansion.



And on the other side of I-1 from the Westview WalMart is Westview Town Center. Further expansion north on Westview Ave is planned, but waiting for North Westview to build up more.

Dave

[davidhogan 1]

Western Areas Growing, County over 300,000



Main Street in Isla Vista still hasn't seen it's full growth potential, though the train lines are actually quite full all the way across the county now. More businesses will probably move in over the next several years.



This area has been owned by the US Gov't for as long as anyone can remember, maybe longer. There are persistent rumors that it will be developed into a Naval base, but nothing has happened yet. Residents are devided, but there's nothing they can do to stop it.



Back to the metro area we have some new devlopment along the I-601 corridor. Here we have a before and after of the Skyline Road upgrades.



The new avenue will probably curve to the southeast and meet up with Hollister Ave, but there are houses in the way, not to mention several hills.

Dave

[davidhogan 1]

Growth Throughout SB Metro Continues



The new Waterfront Conference Center in West Santa Barbara not only created jobs - it is helping put us on the map with businesses worldwide with it's conference centers overlooking the Pacific.



To accomidate East Santa Barbara's growth in the nook between I-1 and CA-144 we had to upgrade one of the local roads to an avenue, and some roads to one-way traffic. The new Marriott is well worth the costs, as it's near 100% occupancy nightly.



The final obstical was neighborhood opposition due to the removal of a well-established local bowling alley. The project instead was completed up to it, and residents quickly stopped complaining about losing their bowling alley and started complaining about the traffic. The avenue has since been completed.



I just threw in this old file photo of the construction of CA-144 to show you what the Marriott used to be about 100 years ago - a farm.

My how she's grown...

Dave

[davidhogan 1]

I-701 Extended, Further Plans Considered



This shot was taken as the roadway was under construction. Engineers first completed the new portion of the freeway, closed the last exit, connected the two parts, then added the all-new ramps.



The roadway, now completed, handles almost 1 000 more cars every morning than it had before, and is helping to spur on further waterfront construction.

Questions, comments, ideas, requests?

Dave

[davidhogan 1]

Santa Barbara Suburbia Grows



The new Barre Hills Parkway has been completed as the northernmost east-west link in SB County, from CA-217 to Center Ave near CA-154. The temp alignment of CA-217 is shown, the freeway designs are still being bidded on by contractors.

Santa Barbara is alive and well.

Dave

[Casper3141 60]

How the hell can you people not comment on this piece of art? Quit being lazy And Comment! Great work too Dave I hope you keep Updating

[bobinator 0]

This is really a grand piece of work! I love all the detail like the highway symbles and how you show all of the freeway expansion! Great job davidhogan!!!!

[oroen 0]

I was beginning to wonder about SB! I'm glad it's still alive and well. Your road construction updates are always excellent.

[Mexicanboy13r 12]

wow this is wonderful work! I need to keep in touch! Hope you can fix SAN Diego!

[jacqulina 162]

great work

[Cjah 15]

Wow!I haven't been here in a while....

Such a great C.J.!

 

The freeway system is great!

[davidhogan 1]

SB Convention Center Opens



Thank you everyone for the comments, here's a quick shot of the new downtown Convention Center that was built into the Marina District walking distance from US-101.

Dave

[Mexicanboy13r 12]

very interesting water texture you got there.. green as well? hmmm cool I see so much traffic.. I wonder ho your air pollution is doing?

 

Great work Dave!

[AfroThunda 1]

Looks kewl, it looks like you have some crazy traffic though! Nice work.

  -Afro

[davidhogan 1]

Town of Hill Valley Founded



The main commercial district of Hill Valley. Ocean Hills Blvd eventually will be extended east as the main northern parallel to I-1.



Hill Valley Elementary is a very highly-ranked school in the region, and is definitely an attractive feature to sell homes in the neighborhood.



And that's the main civic district, complete with police, a fire station, and a hospital.

Dave

[Casper3141 60]

Nice, I love that Commercial area its just so great

[davidhogan 1]

Santa Barbara County Over 400,000



The whole region, including the now-completed CA-154 to the north edge of the county, and the new Capenteria/Santa Barbara International Airport.



All this farmland was the flattest land that wasn't already packed with housing south of the mountains. There was a valley that was perfectly shaped to hold 2 full-size runways side-by-side.



Several months of construction later, here's the airport. The dual runways and cargo facilities have made this the primary airport for the county, but many residents of the western county still prefer SBI to avoid the drive across town.



A closer shot of the terminal, along with the new businesses that have grown up nearby due to the new cargo terminal.

Dave

[Casper3141 60]

Kickass, Santa Barbaras reached 400K! And Built a New Airport! Great Job Dave And WTF!?!?! 2 Updates And Ive been the only person to comment come on people....

[bobinator 0]

Wow! Yay! 400,000 people!!! Great job! And that airport is wonderful!!! Can't wait for more of this!!!

bobinator

[kingofsimcity 5,739]

Looks like a great region!

[davidhogan 1]

CA-224 Freeway Nearing Completion



Some properties already faced frontage roads rather than CA-224 (Pacific Beach Blvd), which made the construction go much smoother. This shot was taken while most of the frontage roads were nearing completion.



The after shot shows how the road was completed. More shots will follow, including the I-701/CA-224 and I-1/CA-224 interchanges.

Thanks again for the comments!

Dave

[bobinator 0]

I just love how you show how everything changes and expands! Great job!

[Simguyuk 0]

This city grows just like a real one. Do you have the network addon mod thingy or some kind of traffic mod? Your roads are really clogged!

[davidhogan 1]

First Downtown Highrise Built!



Here's Santa Barbara's first real downtown highrise, right at the end of CA-154 freeway at US-101. Along with the mid-rises, Santa Barbara is starting to become a city with a skyline.

As far as traffic, I have the NAM + an automata mod that was posted in the NAM thread that adds more cars to the roads. Most roads aren't too bad, espescially with the new I-701 and CA-224 freeways. There's still trouble spots along the beaches, but local residents oppose any freeway construction along the coast.

Dave

[bobinator 0]

Looks very nice!!! Great job! I love how you've done all of your freeways.

[davidhogan 1]

Metro Freeway Map



Here's the current freeways of Santa Barbara Metro. I didn't realize how long it'd been since I'd posted a map, so this way you can find your way to the beaches from North County easily, just take I-601 to the new I-301.

The new CA-225 freeway parallels the old CA-225 routing, which though unmarked follows the avenue to the south of the freeway, until the unmarked (and also non-continuous) CA-192. US-101 is also unmarked, since it follows I-1 and parallel avenues so obviously.

I-701 and CA-224 are both marked also, so you can put them in place. CA-217 and CA-154 are both complete, but both have two tunnels that don't show in this view.

Dave

[davidhogan 1]

Focus on East Hills



East Hills was best known as the buffer between Santa Barbara and Carpenteria, with a good amount of farmland around. Spurring the construction of CA-224 was growing past these farms.



Houses, offices, and retail shops have helped spur growth through the neighboring areas as well. Unfortunately the farms haven't been replaced, since the land prices and rocky soil in SB County don't make it a great investment for a farmer.



The avenue shown above was extended past the railroad tracks as a false start at developing this area early in East Hills' growth.



And another after, showing the recent growth on the west side of town that's taken place in the past 10 years or so.

Dave