Simple, casual player friendly, alternate intersections.

[Mitchells00]

I understand the need to keep the game simple enough for casual players; though I feel that including 2-3 different intersection types for each given combination of roads, cycled through perhaps with right click, would drastically improve game play for players of every skill level; they would be rather easy to implement and would allow more organic development of cities.

Adding these intersections would neatly fit in with the Mass Transit DLC, and I think, for a significant portion of players, would eliminate the need to turn to mods.

My suggestions for implementation:

• Traffic lights should have a higher maintenance cost than non-light intersections (or some vs none in addition to normal road maintenance costs).
• Emergency vehicles should be able to drive across the painted centre strips in the 'right only' intersections and ignore the 'no left turn' rule.
• Speed limit of roundabouts should be somewhere on the order of 50% of the ordinary speed limit of that road type.
• There should be a cost involved when changing the intersection type after some in game time (similar to refund rates).
• Sign icons should be used to visually display the intersection type whilst in the road tool, perhaps hovering over an intersection at a given zoom level, giving a visual cue for new players that this may be something that can be changed; perhaps even using the icon as a button.

(I hope it goes without saying that the top left most intersection example should also apply when two six-lane roads intersect.)


Sidenote: If this is implemented; please use blobabouts for oddly-shaped/difficult small-road intersections; they're surprisingly effective:

 

[Kastle117]

On the 4-lane roundabout, the right lane should be a right turn only, and the left be only straight. Just a thought.

Good suggestions though!

V/r

Kastle117

 

[Mitchells00]

On the 4-lane roundabout, the right lane should be a right turn only, and the left be only straight. Just a thought.

Good suggestions though!

V/r

Kastle117

I see from your profile that you're an American... I hear you guys just got your first roundabouts recently, but as much as it might terrify you lot: the lane markings in my image are really how the rest of the world uses two-lane roundabouts.

It may look suicidal to a newbie, but I promise you its fine; they're everywhere here in Australia.

 

[Fox_NS_CAN]

One was put in not too far from me a few years back. I hate it. Nobody knows how to use it. Yield is apparently too complicated. If you are not going straight through on the main road, look out. I'd say less than half will yield. Tractor trailers take up both lanes going through the roundabout. Worst I have encountered was someone going around in the wrong direction.

Drive on right lane. Go around roundabout counter-clockwise.

Almost nothing in the A direction, so very little traffic there. Not a lot in the C direction either, though that may change in the future with a highway off-ramp being added that may connect here.

Going from B to D or D to B is the vast majority of traffic. It seems to surprise people coming from D if you are going B to C, and they rarely yield for you. Much like tractor trailers, many of them drive through in as straight a line as they can, going from outside lane to inside to outside. Note dotted lines worn off on the north and south sides.

Sometimes traffic headed from B to F gets backed up by the red light at F, as far back as B (though less lately), completely blocking A (so hope you are not one of the few cars coming from there. Better to go through the parking lot and come out at F.)

If you are going D to B, and are in the outside lane, note that it turns off at E, so if you are not turning, you need to move left.

How are you supposed to use this thing? (I feel I understand it better than most folks around here, but I have some questions.)

 

[Kastle117]

I see from your profile that you're an American... I hear you guys just got your first roundabouts recently, but as much as it might terrify you lot: the lane markings in my image are really how the rest of the world uses two-lane roundabouts.

It may look suicidal to a newbie, but I promise you its fine; they're everywhere here in Australia.

Haha. Yea, we don't have many roundabouts, but they are just now starting to implement them into our networks. I actually live on a military base and we have several roundabouts, one of which has a 4-lane road leading into it and the right lane is a right turn only, so it's just what I'm used to.

Cheers!

 

[Kastle117]

One was put in not too far from me a few years back. I hate it. Nobody knows how to use it. Yield is apparently too complicated. If you are not going straight through on the main road, look out. I'd say less than half will yield. Tractor trailers take up both lanes going through the roundabout. Worst I have encountered was someone going around in the wrong direction.

View attachment 246497

Drive on right lane. Go around roundabout counter-clockwise.

Almost nothing in the A direction, so very little traffic there. Not a lot in the C direction either, though that may change in the future with a highway off-ramp being added that may connect here.

Going from B to D or D to B is the vast majority of traffic. It seems to surprise people coming from D if you are going B to C, and they rarely yield for you. Much like tractor trailers, many of them drive through in as straight a line as they can, going from outside lane to inside to outside. Note dotted lines worn off on the north and south sides.

Sometimes traffic headed from B to F gets backed up by the red light at F, as far back as B (though less lately), completely blocking A (so hope you are not one of the few cars coming from there. Better to go through the parking lot and come out at F.)

If you are going D to B, and are in the outside lane, note that it turns off at E, so if you are not turning, you need to move left.

How are you supposed to use this thing? (I feel I understand it better than most folks around here, but I have some questions.)

From what I know about roundabouts, whoever is in the circle has the right of way, period. From what I've read on your post, you know that too. With all of the lanes and markings, it's a little advanced for my knowledge. I would just look something like that up on Google or something, or watch a time-lapse of that sort of traffic circle on YouTube.

 

[Fox_NS_CAN]

From what I know about roundabouts, whoever is in the circle has the right of way, period. From what I've read on your post, you know that too. With all of the lanes and markings, it's a little advanced for my knowledge. I would just look something like that up on Google or something, or watch a time-lapse of that sort of traffic circle on YouTube.

Yeah, you are correct, I know that much. The area where I am uncertain has to do with what lane to be in. I have heard some say you need to be in the innermost to go around, and be in the outermost when exiting the circle. Well, if that's true, it is a bit crazy, as it is not a very big circle. You'd be crossing back and forth between lanes rather quickly. If you come out at B heading for E, you'd be in the outside lane, and if you were not turning in at E, you need to change back to the left lane again. Seems pretty stupid.

I've sort of always gone by enter and exit via the same lane. That seems more correct to me.

 

[Fox_NS_CAN]

Haha. Yea, we don't have many roundabouts, but they are just now starting to implement them into our networks.

I can't speak for the country (Canada) as a whole, but in Nova Scotia, they seem to be the latest fad. Some of them seem absolutely stupid.
Others look like they would work quite well, and make a lot of sense.

I have seen some in places that I have a hard time imagining more than 2 or 3 cars an hour. Wondering what the point is?

 

[Mitchells00]

One was put in not too far from me a few years back. I hate it. Nobody knows how to use it. Yield is apparently too complicated. If you are not going straight through on the main road, look out. I'd say less than half will yield. Tractor trailers take up both lanes going through the roundabout. Worst I have encountered was someone going around in the wrong direction.

Drive on right lane. Go around roundabout counter-clockwise.

Almost nothing in the A direction, so very little traffic there. Not a lot in the C direction either, though that may change in the future with a highway off-ramp being added that may connect here.

Going from B to D or D to B is the vast majority of traffic. It seems to surprise people coming from D if you are going B to C, and they rarely yield for you. Much like tractor trailers, many of them drive through in as straight a line as they can, going from outside lane to inside to outside. Note dotted lines worn off on the north and south sides.

Sometimes traffic headed from B to F gets backed up by the red light at F, as far back as B (though less lately), completely blocking A (so hope you are not one of the few cars coming from there. Better to go through the parking lot and come out at F.)

If you are going D to B, and are in the outside lane, note that it turns off at E, so if you are not turning, you need to move left.

How are you supposed to use this thing? (I feel I understand it better than most folks around here, but I have some questions.)

It's very common for a roundabout to have a lane merge directly afterwards; this is to just allow more traffic through at once.

I've marked the turning lane markings that should have been printed on the ground as you approach the roundabout in red next to the lanes; and the areas I've outlined in blue dots are the unofficial but widely practiced "don't queue across intersection" areas that half-decent people leave clear. The roundabout isn't the problem, just the people around you are idiots. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

From what I know about roundabouts, whoever is in the circle has the right of way, period. From what I've read on your post, you know that too. With all of the lanes and markings, it's a little advanced for my knowledge. I would just look something like that up on Google or something, or watch a time-lapse of that sort of traffic circle on YouTube.

A video of an American amused by our roundabouts...

This simulation is rather mesmerising.
TBH it would be epic if we could have roundabouts that trams go through that follow this rule in C:SL; they're quite common down in Melbourne.

I've sort of always gone by enter and exit via the same lane. That seems more correct to me.

This is correct; if you have to change lanes in a roundabout, you messed up; I think it's technically allowed, but I've never seen it done. In general, the lane you enter in is the lane you exit from; if you're in the inside lane trying to exit and there's someone next to you in the outside lane who wishes to stay on the roundabout, it means that one of you is using the wrong lane.

Some of them seem absolutely stupid. Others look like they would work quite well, and make a lot of sense.

Under all circumstances, roundabouts are better than 4 way yield/stop intersections; see the blobabout picture in my original post to see how they can be used to combat difficult intersections. Once everyone knows how to use them, they're so much easier to deal with.

 

[metacritical]

 

[Person012345]

One was put in not too far from me a few years back. I hate it. Nobody knows how to use it. Yield is apparently too complicated. If you are not going straight through on the main road, look out. I'd say less than half will yield. Tractor trailers take up both lanes going through the roundabout. Worst I have encountered was someone going around in the wrong direction.

View attachment 246497

Drive on right lane. Go around roundabout counter-clockwise.

Almost nothing in the A direction, so very little traffic there. Not a lot in the C direction either, though that may change in the future with a highway off-ramp being added that may connect here.

Going from B to D or D to B is the vast majority of traffic. It seems to surprise people coming from D if you are going B to C, and they rarely yield for you. Much like tractor trailers, many of them drive through in as straight a line as they can, going from outside lane to inside to outside. Note dotted lines worn off on the north and south sides.

Sometimes traffic headed from B to F gets backed up by the red light at F, as far back as B (though less lately), completely blocking A (so hope you are not one of the few cars coming from there. Better to go through the parking lot and come out at F.)

If you are going D to B, and are in the outside lane, note that it turns off at E, so if you are not turning, you need to move left.

How are you supposed to use this thing? (I feel I understand it better than most folks around here, but I have some questions.)

Going D to B you should be able to use either lane, choose the more appropriate lane for your destination prior to arriving at the roundabout. This may depend on the roundabout, not all roundabouts use the same lanes for the same things, but they should be clearly marked - though to be fair they don't seem to be which is on your town planners. I find it strange that your lanes aren't clearly marked.

This video explains the idea a bit. Note that some of the roundabouts use the inside lane for going straight on, whilst some reserve that for turning right and use the outside lane for going straight on. Like I say, it varies by roundabout and should be clearly marked if it doesn't follow the basic rules. Obviously all instructions in this video are reversed because of the left hand drive roads, when they say "stay to the left" that of course translates to "stay to the right" on right hand drive roads.

Yeah, you are correct, I know that much. The area where I am uncertain has to do with what lane to be in. I have heard some say you need to be in the innermost to go around, and be in the outermost when exiting the circle. Well, if that's true, it is a bit crazy, as it is not a very big circle. You'd be crossing back and forth between lanes rather quickly. If you come out at B heading for E, you'd be in the outside lane, and if you were not turning in at E, you need to change back to the left lane again. Seems pretty stupid.

I've sort of always gone by enter and exit via the same lane. That seems more correct to me.

Again it can depend on the roundabout. Some are big and give you plenty of time to switch lanes if that's what you're supposed to do (generally with very large roundabouts with numerous exits). Smaller ones like that you would just exit on the inside lane.