Empire Bay: Green Meadows

[nbvc]

Fantastic region development.

[RickD]

Fun by the Sea

Empire Island's developed coastline is mostly industrialized. Piers for all kinds of cargo ships and warehouses dominate the scene. The west coast is an exception. A few years ago this area was undeveloped. Then the city council approved the West Beach Development Program and zoned a large area for recreational use.

35.1

The result of this program is a boardwalk, Yacht Harbor, an amusement park, and a public beach. You can also see the recently completed South Island Parkway.
I couldn't figure out how to match the water color in this cross border shot. 

35.2

As a first effort of the West Coast Development Project the city has constructed a boardwalk to attract private investors.

35.3

Also the area has been made accessible by building roads and a ferry port. It is part of Empire Bay's extensive ferry network. There are connections to the broadway ferry terminal in old town and several other destinations on the island and in the region.

35.4

Empire Electric has opened a streetcar line along the west coast. It is running from the central station to the regional airport with lots of stops at the tourist attractions. The line is heavily used during the summer months but operates at a loss during winter. This year Empire Electric was forced to stop service from November to March due to financial problems. The city counsil is considering to have the port authoirity take over operation of this line as it is deemed important for the city development.

35.5

The boardwalk is a great success. Many businesses, mostly seafood restaurants, boat tour operators, and souvenir shops have opened along it.

35.6

With growing wealth the number of privately owned boats and yachts is increasing fast.

35.7

The demand is high and the marina is at capacity.

35.8

The harbor needs to be well protected from the winter storms.

35.9


35.10


35.11


35.12


35.13


35.14

Tuckahoe Funland is a popular destination for day-trippers seeking to escape the city.

35.15

The Cyclone, a wooden rollercoaster, is the main attraction. After several severe accidents, the park launched a Safety First campaign which resulted in the removal of the "No accidents since x days" sign. People do indeed feel much safer now.

35.16

The Wonder Wheel is the newest ride. From the top the riders have a spectacular view of the ocean, the harbor, and the city skyline in the distance.

35.17


35.18

A warm summer night.

35.19


35.20

This is the historic seaport village, constructed two and a half years ago. It is popular among tourists with its authentic stores ("Ye olde Picture Postcard Shoppe") and a museum ship. Here they can experience the atmosphere of Empire Bay's early days, recreated by clever businessmen.

35.21

The west beach neighborhood south of the parkway is built on reclaimed land. Materials from leveling the inner island have been dumped into the ocean, extending the island to the west.

35.22

The public beach is still mostly undeveloped. The development plan envisions another boardwalk and more businesses like hotels and resorts here. But the funding is not yet approved.

35.23

During the short but intense summer people are taking every opportunity to enjoy themselves.

35.24

Everyone can access the beach free of charge.

35.25

Young people like to put up tents on the beach or rent campers.

35.26

Some of them live at the beach for weeks during summer holidays.

35.27


35.28

The regions climate is extreme. Freezing cold winters are followed by a short but hot summers. The people of Empire Bay are making the most of it. During the warm weeks of the year they flee the city to the beach and enjoy the sun.

35.29

This concludes our tour along the west coast. As you can see, it gets pretty much industrial again for the rest of the coastline.



Replies:

Great to see something new here! The island seams to have changed a lot, i look foward to seeing some closeups of the new developments

Thank you. I hope you liked the closeups.

Great region view. I like all these harbours, boats and airport.
Good progres in last two month and good positition of the CBD.

Glad you like it. 

Wow, excellent job! I'm wondering about the blurry part though, what could it be?!   

I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you.   

Anyhow, seems like Empire Bay has had quite a massive expansion, can't wait to see it up close! 

Thank you. 

Holy cow! Magnificent!

Can't to see those new 'burbs you've built on the Eastern side of the island..
And I apologize for not congratulating you earlier on your wedding--I thought I did, but anyway!



-Ricky

Thanks. 

I'm curious to see what the Coast line looks up close.....    Any Plans for a large bridge or tunnel?

Absolutely. There will be lots of bridges and tunnels. 

Fantastic region development.

Thank you. 

[Flatron]

I love it! I hope that the tram service will not be closed in the future...

[vortext]

Wow, that's one giant marina! 

Maybe a little too big as it looks challenging to manoeuvre boats around. And I've to say, in comparison the airport is surprisingly small. .

That said, Funland sure looks like fun and the nightshot is gorgeous! 

Hope we get to see the industrial areas soon! 

[Jeroentje]

amazing update! 
seems like many of the citizens of Empire Bay are rich enough to buy a boat.

[SimCity V6]

NICE UPDATE!!! Well, have you thought about creating tract housing mania in Empire Bay??? I think you should go for them! In your next update (or the update after that), you should make Levittown style housing.  You can just Google "levittown tract houses" and take a look at the pictures. Then, just attempt it and create it for an update! Also, you can continue to show tract housing in future updates by searching Google for more tract housing throughout the times, until you get to 2000s white-siding, brick, 2-story, dense tract houses and McMansions in golf-course communities, with schools everywhere, local shopping centers, power centers (shopping centers with many big box stores) and modern interchanges.

I know that is A LOT  , but most of this is what I'd like to see in the FUTURE  , so I hope you keep that in mind! (modern suburbia)

[threestooges]

It's been a while since I posted here, so there's plenty of ground for me to cover. First off, I like the airport. Nice work with the intersecting runways and fitting as much as you did into a relatively compact and L-shaped area. I like the tram-in-ave on the slope down to the marina (35.4). Clean work on the grading, and I've always liked seeing walls used like that. What's the wall set on the top right of 35.3?

The marina itself looks good. It looks like a fairly significant walk down to the end of the longer docks, but then I've seen similar stuff in real life so it's not all that far off the norm. The spacing between them is tight, but then it's actually fairly true-to-life too, especially when looking as some of the marinas down in San Diego.

35.23: I love the beach. The flora around it ties it in well, and the parking area is great. How did you make it? I have a space or two in Greenacre which could benefit from that laid-back look.
-Matt

[Kergelen]

Very well planned area. Great position of the marina and the airport, and nice beach

[noahclem]

Excellent work Raphael    A lovely shoreline nicely in contrast to Empire Bay's industrial shores. Also great overviews! Those mountains are crazy. One suggestion would be to switch your water mod to this. It's the same textures, just with more detail so it'll fit in with the HD stuff you've decorated the area with 

[nbvc]

Huge and great marina and nice beach.

[sunv123]

Wow, very nice MMP detaining on the beach and waterfronts! I'm jealous of you skills on waterfronts

One thing that I see missing is a hotel that i'd be able to stay in for the summer

[MTT9]

Great seeing a new update here Sometimes the way you plan things out reminds me of sc3000... weird right?

[art128]

Now that's one big marina you've got there Raphael.

Impressive work on this neighborhood, the beach is awesome.

[solsystem]

Great update! Good idea to put the marina and the funland together.

[benedict]

Congratulations, your MD is number one this week on BTT.

[Dantes]

The city overview in the first picture looks very American.   I like the fun park. I find the port a little oversized. If people want to go out every weekend where sieihre park cars? You'd need more parking spaces! Otherwise, I like that very growth. I'm curious how it goes.

[carlfatal]

Shame, shame, i was inactive for so long and missed lots of updates and now i can´t get enough... 

Speechless looking through Your MD, blasted by your pictures the only thing i can say at the moment is: thank you for sharing!
How this earlier small village is becoming a town, all these details i found on the pictures, how the old Maxis highway matches into this ocean of houses, - what else should i say than "brilliant"? Also the views into the surrounding landscape, the small villages, ferryports, how the streets blend into the nature, really everything here is a highlight, especially i love the new commercial center with the wonderful early US-American skyscrapers. 

How could i stay away from SC4D? 

Greetz, Carl

[RickD]

I have updated my Photo Album and I am really interested in your feedback:
RickD's Photo Album: New York City 2007

[Swordmaster]

Oh, apparently forgot to comment here. Lovely marina and beach Raphael! I like the patterns of the dark bushes and underwater sand. You come very close to realism here.


Cheers
Willy

[sim_link]

Haven't stopped by in a while. The waterfront looks amazing, and the highway/expressway fits nicely into the area. The realism of the marina and boardwalk is stunning. Fantastic job!