Looked at this whole thread. Tons of great work and some good examples of what not to do, as well....I've learned a ton from others in threads like these, so thought I'd share my own tid bit b/c internet ftw.
I started this city to make a tutorial about more expressive, functional, and realistic new city connections (using mods ofc), but never did anything with it. I ended up having too much fun with the city and ruined traffic eventually..never fixed it, so never accomplished my goal lol.... Anyway, here is as far as I got:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1575844953
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1570967810
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1570965128