Build boulevards without trees in SimCity 3000

Contributor/author(s): Carl Chartier

Tired of all those darn trees clogging your main arterials? Here is a way to remove all of them, or, if you wish, only half of them. This technique is best used when laying new streets as it requires one clear tile along the side of the boulevard while performing this operation.

You may have noticed that when you run power lines across a boulevard, the trees disappear from the median strip. This is because the power company doesn't want trees touching its power lines (fire hazard and liability concerns would be my guess!). If you remove the power lines later, the trees aren't replaced. We can use this to our advantage.

Lay out the boulevards and any connecting side streets first (connecting side streets later causes the trees to pop back 4 to 5 tiles from the intersection in both directions). Select 'utilities', then select 'power lines'. Click on a clear tile next to the boulevard and drag it across both tiles of the street. Release the mouse button and the trees will disappear, and a power pole will pop up next to the street. Repeat this process as far along the boulevard as you wish. Demolish the power lines and poles, and you end up with a treeless boulevard. be careful when demolishing the poles. If you accidentally demolish a section of street, you get your trees back. To remove only half the trees, drag the power lines across half the boulevard (or only one tile). You can get a 'checker board' pattern to the tree layout by dragging from the opposite side of the street on the next section, then repeating the process. This technique also works on curves.

Experiment with this method, and you will soon have a more interesting variety of streets in your city. However, there is one slight drawback to having all that pavement in the center of your boulevards. The sims have a tendency to use them as sidewalks!

See also
Beautify your highway system
Highways, for aesthetics only?
How to build bridges