Graph Paper Cities

[superhands]

well, ive started a blog, with similar themes, and i think we'll need a thread called:  graph pixel cities


http://futureperth.wordpress.com/

[io_bg]

Here is a new challenge.  I've created a simple intersection (actually 2 intersections in close proximity), and I've drawn colours on them to show where traffic is the worst just like in SC4.  Your job is too catapult the world 20 years into the future, and show how these roads develop into a major route from City North to the CBD.
-At grade, Grade separated, or mixed
-Some kind of pedestrian facilities
-Bonus points for anyone who includes bus facilities (pullouts or dedicated lane)
-After a few days, I will post a satellite image of the real intersection I found and used for this challenge.

You have a lot of flexibility in this challenge, I'm interested to see some diverse designs.

Looks like that'll be an interesting challenge. I'd like to ask, though, which is the congested road? I can't see well in the picture.

[mightygoose]

its like sc4 traffic view.... the red on is congested lol....

[io_bg]

I don't think so. Somewhere there should be a yellow-coloured road but, as I said, I can't see it on the picture.

[mightygoose]

really it is, he even said that in his post... the lower left and upper forks are yellow.... just faint.

[Kevin1a]

Right.  The most important thing is the red road.  This is the route that all the commuters are taking because they want to get on that diagonal road towards the central business district.  The yellow and green markers are really close in color, except yellow hardly works.  My interpretation of the intersection is 90% done, I'm just putting on a few finishing touches.  I might wait a little to post it though to see what others come up with.

@adroman, I like it.  Very detailed, and obviously more than just a drawing.  I don't think I've ever done an airport, because I don't understand them well enough, but I did a college campus multiple times.

[riiga]

I'm about 90 % done as well, but I'll post my interpretation tomorrow, since it's getting late here now. 

[Kevin1a]

I decided that I've been drawing so many interchanges lately, that I really wanted to draw an intersection, so for the most part I did.  The red route that the commuters are taking to get downtown has been placed on two flyovers, so theoretically, it should be free-flowing at all times, regardless of red lights.  A double right turn lane was constructed, and the roadways were widened in general.  The winding path at the bottom is a cycle-road for bikes and mopeds to isolate them from faster moving traffic and let them pedal in peace.  The interchange with the diagonal road actually wouldn't need a light at all, and could be run simply with yield signs, but I figured because of the angle of the intersection and the possibility of supports for the flyover blocking drivers views, traffic lights have been installed, they may be turned off at night at the traffic department's discretion.  The bus pullouts are labeled "TRANS" the name of one of my fictional public transit agencies.  In the larger intersection towards the bottom of the page, I struggled with the proper striping of the lanes leading into the flyover.  You don't usually have a setup like that.  It's hard to refer to, because in real life, north would be to the right, so I'll just explain.

Flyover Right Turn(fat stripes)Left Turn(fat stripes)Through(standard stripes)Through(fat)Right Turn Lane(short dotted)Right Turn Lnae

I'm not sure if I used the fat and through striping in the proper places, but I'm really happy with the result overall.  This is one of my better intersections in a long time.

[riiga]

Looking good Kevin1a! Very similar to my design in fact...



My design wouldn't fit on a single A4 this time, and I had to use some tape to attach about a third of another paper. That's why there's line in the upper half.

As for the actual design, I decied to go for a roundabout at the diagonal/straight intersection, since it allows for easy direction change and looks better (in my opinion). I also added a few bus stops and bus lanes (the ones marked "Buss"). For bikers and pedestrians, there's quite an extensive network of paths to use, and almost all of them are grade-separated. The only place with an at-grade pedestrian crossing is the road going to the residential area, and as marked on the AADT chart, traffic amount isn't as high there as on the other roads.

[Kevin1a]

Looks good.  I think you did an especially good job with the bike/ped facilities.

I'm about ready to reveal the real intersection.  If anyone is still working on a design for this, I still want to see it! 

The real intersection is located in Colorado Springs, CO USA several kilometers northeast of downtown.  The 4 way intersection is between Fillmore (which turns into Circle Blvd to the east) and Union.  The diagonal is between Templeton Gap Rd. which is now broken into many tiny fragments, but historically must have run NE to SW through the entire region.  I removed the north fork of that intersection to make it a three-way and make the challenge more unique.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.873678,-104.795548&spn=0.007801,0.016512&t=h&z=17

Theoretically, that link should take you to a satellite picture of the intersection, just remember it's rotated 90 degrees.  I also messed with the capacities a little bit.  In reality Templeton Gap does not carry a ton of traffic, but it's a great secret route to get downtown because it cuts diagonally through everything and has very few signalized intersections.

I've always been captivated by T-Gap road because you can see bits and pieces of it scattered discontinuously throughout the area.  I wish there was really old satellite footage if the region, maybe 1920's or 1950's.  Perhaps they might have some interesting info at the library or the Pioneers Museum.  There is one section of t-gap in town that is not used, basically it's just concrete slabs in an empty field, but it must be pretty old, because it is really narrow (by American standards).  I'd say it's about 1.5 lanes wide.  Sooner or later, this too will get torn up, and less and less people will make the connections I do, and wonder about that mysterious diagonal road.

The satellite image is old, so you can't see it, but the city's first triple left turn lanes were installed recently going from Eastbound Fillmore onto Northbound Union.

[Nego]

Here is a new challenge for everyone!

Design an interchange for this:

Note: Just because the labels for the highways and roads are like they are in SimCity, doesn't mean you can only use the exit ramp interfaces that are in SimCity, they're just there to help give a better picture of what the roads look like.

Rules
•Your interchange must be a full interchange.
•Your interchange can't be just one big round-a-bout either. There is too much traffic in the area for that.
•You can increase the number of lanes at the interchange, but not before or beyond the interchange(if that makes any sense).
•The paper size doesn't matter. It can be as big or small as you want!

At the end of the challenge, I will show you guys what the interchange looks like in real life.

Good Luck!