SounderBruce

  SimWarrior: Thanks!

Hello! This is SounderBruce, the CJ'er formerly known as CG/ComputerGuy, and I've returned to the SimCity community for the fourth (or is it fifth?) time! I'm here with a new CJ that will have some ties to my Republic of Puget CJ, without affiliation with any unions or groups, centered on a megalopolis known as the Greater Whatcom Region. My goal for the Greater Whatcom Region, which will be centered around two urban centers surrounding a world-class city in a similar fashion to Seattle, will be to showcase what I've learned regarding city design over my last hiatus and to show that I am back, bigger and better than ever. The base map I will be using for the Whatcom region is a made by mpetryni and skippydam73 several years ago. Many of the names for nearby cities and natural features come from around Western Washington and southwestern British Columbia. Many of the names do not correspond with real-life features in order to not encourage prospective readers from thinking that this will be faithful re-creation of Bellingham. I repeat, this will not be a re-creation of Bellingham. Now, with the disclaimer out of the way, we can start looking into what I've started planning out for the series, beginning with the names of cities and major natural features. As you can see, most of the cities' names are borrowed from the names of other cities and areas around Western Washington as well as some generic names that make geographic sense. The principal cities of the Greater Whatcom Region are (in order of decreasing population and influence): Whatcom, Baker, and Tahoma, all of whom have distinct and separate metropolitan areas of their own that are linked by various forms of transportation. Whatcom will be the primary focus of the CJ once some outlying areas, mainly in the far-off Salish Sea and Baker Valley, are worked on. The city will be analogous to Seattle in many ways, but will have a single grid and better rapid transit (hint hint, Sound Transit). Baker is far away from the core of the region, so it grew fairly independent until the completion of railroads and high-capacity roads across the mountains. Tahoma will have only recently stepped out of Whatcom's shadow and growing its own dense urban core around an existing port and low-density homes. I hope everyone enjoys this city journal! Suggestions and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Well, I might as well contribute my own entry to this list: ComputerGuy890100 to SounderBruce sometime in August 2011.

From Redwood Island:

A little part of Redwood Island between the ferry terminal and public marina (all PEG-OWW2):

Here's one from my new CJ, featuring Redwood Island

Redwood Island, nestled between three of the largest islands in the Whatcom Sound and a wildlife preserve, has recently undergone a rapid transformation that resulted in a scummy stopover for sailors becoming a home for upper middle class families. Attracted by the scenery, the unique and eponymous redwood forests along the island's coasts, and the relative closeness to amenities, an influx of new residents has let the population of the areas above the town's central core to swell over 7,000. The only way off the island, other than personal watercraft, is by one of the dozens of vessels that make up the legendary fleet of the Whatcom Department of Ferry Services (WFS). The Redwood Island terminal was rebuilt, with many hardships, during the town's renaissance in the early 2000s along with the rest of the waterfront and a new marina. The terminal is well served by the main arterial of the island, Central Avenue, and all three of the island's bus routes, operated by the Whatcom Transit Authority (WTA). The northern end of Redwood Island's central core features several civic buildings, including the local post office, fire station, police station, and public market, as well as a fishing pier and the dock for the tourist steamboat MV Salish Sailor that stops weekly on its way to and from various islands and the mainland port of Tahoma. The public market, which once served as the local town hall and courthouse, attracts vendors ranging from farmers living on the southeastern tip of the island, to fishermen operating out of the nearby marina, as well as imports from as far as the Baker Valley. This area of the town is served by WTA Route 946, which loops around the central core with a small spur line to the marina. The southern end of the central core is home to three major landmarks: the Island's 154-foot-high (47m) limestone castle-like Water Tower and adjacent City Civic Center as well as Redwood Stadium, home of the humble Redwood Timbers Football Club. The club has yet to escape the rough-and-tumble local leagues even after an injection of Middle Eastern oil money from a wealth sheikh who fell in love with the island on a vacation and promptly bought out the team and its crippling debts. The Timbers, named for the former logging industry that was more welcomed by long-time residents than the drunken sailors of the past and tourists in Hawaiian shirts of the present, are well-supported and boast an average attendance of over a thousand per match, nearly 15% of the island's residents. The Redwood Marina is one of the newest and most sought-after of any marinas available in the Greater Whatcom region, despite being able to house only over two dozen permanent boats in its slips. A nearby boat launch at the end of Marina Way and ample trailer parking spaces provide residents with ways to wait out the long waiting list for the marina whilst still on the water. A new staircase embedded into the faux-granite retaining wall provides access to both the marina front office and a bus stop for WTA Route 946 for residents living in the nearby Marina View housing area or attending services at the Redwood Religious Assembly. A parting shot of the central core of Redwood Island, looking west along the only road connection to the housing areas above the retaining wall. One such housing area is the aforementioned upper-middle class and upper class-oriented Marina View, paved with brick streets and lined with brick pedestrian paths that connect to a bus stop along Central Avenue, served by WTA Route 947 that runs every 15 minutes on Central Avenue to coincide with ferry arrivals/departures from/to Westgate Island and Newport on the mainland. Almost all of the homes on Redwood Island are insulated from traffic noise along thoroughfares such as Evergreen Boulevard by sets of low walls or hedges, providing a sense of security from hostile animals such as the fear-inducing squirrel and raccoon. The only secondary school that serves the island, the aptly-named Redwood Secondary School, is at the northern end of Evergreen Boulevard at a roundabout along the older northern brick seawall, yet to be replaced by the stone used in the newer retaining wall around the central core. The secondary school is notable for its one-of-a-kind class on marine biology that takes monthly scuba diving trips near the eastern coast of the island. Central Avenue, despite being the only road linking the central core with the rest of the island, was only extended and widened to a roundabout at the edge of the island's designated urban growth area and instead shifts traffic to an older two-lane road that winds through the forests on the island's eastern shore instead of being a direct, limited-access connection to farmland in the southeast. A final overview of the island from the south, followed by... A mosaic, from untamed wilderness coast to bustling waterfront shopping district! Schulmanator: Thanks, it's good to be back!

Lovely interchanges! I modified your last design and moved the exits to the right:  

Colman Dock / Pier 52, Seattle "Colman Dock (Pier 52) from Columbia Center.jpg" by AtomicTaco via Wikimedia Commons (full resolution) Other images: Google Street View | Waiting lanes Description: Seattle's Pier 52, located on Elliot Bay between the city's central waterfront to the north and the Port of Seattle to the south, is the home of the flagship terminal for Washington State Ferries, the largest ferry system in the United States and the fourth largest in the world. Colman Dock, as the terminal itself is called, is served by two routes that carried over 8.5 million passengers and over 2.5 million vehicles coming from/going to Bremerton on the Kitsap Peninsula and Bainbridge Island. (source [PDF]) Links: Wikipedia | WSDOT (official website) | Google Maps Why BAT it: A BAT of Colman Dock would fulfill two areas where the SC4 is lacking in good custom content: stuff from Seattle, the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, and ferry terminals suitable for large cities, instead of existing ferry terminals on the STEX that would suit the other terminals on the Puget Sound. Bonus if someone replaces the Maxis ferries with any of the WSF fleet.

I'm launching a new CJ very soon, but I guess it'd be good to leave little teasers in these showcase threads. So, without further ado, I present Redwood Island:

Nice work! Your city is just about the right mix between older W2W cities and newer metal-and-glass cities.   Where exactly did you find the stadium and surrounding paths in the last pic?

I'm looking for two things: A wall made for slopes that has one over/under hanging piece that matches the rest of the set. A set of empty lots with common textures, specifically the asphalt texture used in JBSimio's Smalltown USA series

Thank you so much! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to create an account on there before their QQ intergration and I'm a bit hesitant to create a permanent account on there... EDIT: While I'm here, I have two mods that I can't seem to find here: a mod that changes all sidewalks to a single color and texture and a mod that moves Maxis traffic lights to the opposite sides of roads (the correct position).

This one is part of Ill Tonkso's 25 Canada Square (SimCityKurier/German link).

I'm just getting back into SimCity (for the third or fourth time) and trying to set a personal speed record for a gig of plugins. However, I can't seem to find the following of dmscopio's BATs: his original Anfield, University Sports Pack 1 (included a large twin-tennis-court stadium as well as a basic track and field with stands), and his Simlympics Pack. Searching around SImCity.cn is fairly hard to do even with Google Translate, so I've had no such luck there. Any help would be appreciated!

Hey! I'm on here! If this were the real table, I'd be a noble gas.

Tarkus reveals through his Youtube channel a new feature of the next version of the Network Widening Mod, part of the Network Addon Mod (NAM): draggable transitions between networks!

Well, bad news: Sandboxville crashed when I tried to plop a mall from Portland (evil! ) so I started a new city... This is the last teaser, I promise! Work on the REAL Puget comes next! Stay tuned!

I recently downloaded the "No Grass Mod" by sithlord[something] and after installing it based on instructions on the STEX page, grass still appears between all networks! Please help!

Thanks! I'm gonna fire up SC4 after I install all 150 of SimGoober's best lots.

Would have been nice to see some actual stands I suggest coultharda's many small- and medium-sized euro stadiums on the STEX.

In the NAM folder...

I put the files into the NAM folder.

Passed 2GB of plugins (7,600 items)! Haven't even got much into BSC yet