How do you build a city without all the traffic lights?

[TataruTaru]

So I have to admit, my city is a little bit like a grid. I've tried to find ways to avoid it, but roundabouts are just so large (and not at the start).

The traffic issue seems to be traffic lights. Does anyone have any footage or images of how one can craft a city with minimal traffic lights?

[Fen]

Lots of one way streets and t-intersections, making sure to orient roads properly. However, doing this will kill your industry if you make too big of an area of just one ways. If you do tons of one ways like I say here, you'll need to make tons of small communities and a lot of highways (at least for industry). Not to mention needing a mectric SH*T ton of services.

[TataruTaru]

It just occured to me that I completely forgot to use one-way roads in my city. I think the aforementioned services was the issue, since you don't really want them to have to go ALL the way around.

[Norbi]

I found that if you use two lane roads (one+one lane, not avenues) and connect them to each other, they won't create a traffic light.

Additionally, making a one way two lane road that exits an avenue does not create a traffic light, while one ways entering them do.

Happy building!

[tzero001]

I found this video to be immensely helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1yNaa83I2E

The gist of it:

- two-lane, bidirectional streets never make traffic lights when they intersect or split off. Neither do highways.

- also, when you have a turning lane, cars will get into that lane as early as they possibly can -- miles ahead, if they're able. So those lanes tend to jam up, in part because cars don't swerve out of their lanes to go around cars moving in the same direction. that can be a real problem in industrial areas, where trucks often stop to unload -- but ambulances and hearses (which have to pull over, too) will also block those turning lanes.

all props to the guy who made the video, which also has some suggestions for how to use the traffic algorithm to your best advantage ...

[TataruTaru]

Thank you very much everyone.