Roads
Roads are essential building blocks of a city. They carry not only traffic but also power, water and sewage through your city. Roads must be constructed before zones and other structures can be built. Types of Roads determine the density of nearby zones. When Sims are happy enough (and there is enough space) the houses can upgrade to the next level of density by upgrading the roads. Low Density will give you houses. Medium Density will give you apartments. High density will give you skyscrapers.
- Before Sims can populate a city, a road must be constructed from the regional highway.
Contents
Building Roads
All roads must be constructed from pre-existing roads. The initial road is built from the regional highway. All roads can be upgraded and downgraded, though a Street cannot be upgraded to an Avenue, and an Avenue cannot be downgraded to a Street. The road toolkit includes straight road, arced road, curved road and circle road.
Its recommended (if you are playing sandbox mode) to lay out your streetcar roads first, and weave it through the core and important locations of your city. Place your street car stops at culture,gambling,etc. locations when designing your new city. When your city gets developed enough and populate, your sims will start to beg heavily for streetcars. Thats why you lay these roads out first. Plus you relieve a lot of traffic problems in your city and makes your sims super happy.
If not playing in sandbox mode, it is always a good idea to think where you want to put important pieces of your city, and build Medium Density Avenue to these points. They are less expensive than High Density Streetcar Avenue and can still be upgraded later.
Raise and Lower Roads
When drawing roads, you can press M to raise them and N to lower them. Each M key stroke will raise the road by 6 meters. For the first 2 key strokes, the road will be on top of a retaining wall. After 3 or more M key strokes, bridges will form underneath the roads. These roads can be constructed above pre-existing roads and other structures. First few N key strokes will create a trench for the road to lie on. The next few N key strokes will create a tunnel for the road. Underground tunnels allow the player to construct roads underneath pre-existing roads and structures. By using the raise and lower road tools, players can construct multiple roads on top of each other.
Types of Roads
Low Density Dirt Road
- Main article: Low Density Dirt Road
- Cost: $2 • Maximum density supported: Low • Lanes: 1
Low Density Street
- Main article: Low Density Street
- Cost: $4 • Maximum Density: Low • Lanes: 2
Medium Density Street
- Main article: Medium Density Street
- Cost: $8 • Maximum Density: Medium • Lanes: 4
High Density Street
- Main article: High Density Street
- Cost: $10 • Maximum Density: High • Lanes: 4
Medium Density Avenue
- Main article: Medium Density Avenue
- Cost: $10 • Maximum Density: Medium • Lanes: 4
High Density Avenue
- Main article: High Density Avenue
- Cost: $20 • Maximum Density: High • Lanes: 6
High Density Streetcar Avenue
- Main article: High Density Streetcar Avenue
- Cost: $30 • Maximum Density: High • Lanes: 6 + 2 Streetcar Tracks