Purchasing and Laying Down Roads[edit]
Roads are purchased from the Roads menu in the menu. They carry traffic, power, water, and sewage through your city.
There are several types of streets available, and each serves a purpose. Hover over each option to view its name, a description, and how many Simoleons it takes to lay this type of road by the meter. Select your preferred road, and then click and drag where you’d like to place it. How much the total stretch of road costs is shown above your cursor. Release the left button to build. The type of road can drastically change the zoning density in the city. The wider the road, the more Sims it can traffic, affecting how quickly your Sims can get to their destinations. Smoother traffic flow makes for happier Sims and more profitable businesses. Keep in mind the value and density of each zone as you lay down roads.
TIP: If you’re not satisfied with your road draw, press ESC or right-click before you release the left mouse button to cancel it.
You can lay curved, arced, and rectangular roads. Click the curve, arc, or rectangle icons on the left side of the menu. The curve and arc tools allow you to build curved streets, while the rectangle tool can lay down entire city blocks. Select the road type, and click and drag along the ground to pave the road. Press SHIFT to quickly toggle your tool. Remember to leave enough space for houses, businesses, and factories as you start creating city grids. TIP: As you lay down roads, you’ll see white dotted lines appearing nearby. These lines are suggested guides for additional roads. Use them to help with spacing. The better planned out your roads are, the more organized your city. You can press ALT to toggle the guides on/off.
NOTE: Upgrading your roads is important because cluttered streets can cause problems, including slowing down fire or police services or delaying assistance from neighboring cities. Check out the Mass Transit menu to view various ways to improve your city’s traffic.
City Growth[edit]
As your city grows, you can control traffic and building density by choosing which roads to lay and by upgrading your existing roads.
The size of a road directly correlates to the building’s density level. For larger developments, build larger roads, or upgrade smaller roads by selecting them and choosing an upgrade option.
Tips[edit]
Start with cheaper streets, then use the Road Selector tool to upgrade as traffic increases
