How to Fix Traffic in Cities: Skylines 2
Your roads are jammed because your hierarchy is wrong. Here’s the exact fix.
01 Road Hierarchy — The Foundation
The single most important concept in CS2. Your road network needs layers:
- Highways — carry traffic between districts, no intersections
- Arterial roads — main movement corridors with limited connections
- Collector roads — connect arterials to local streets
- Local roads — residential access only
Every traffic jam happens where a local road dumps directly onto a highway or arterial. Add buffer layers.
02 Roundabouts Beat Traffic Lights
Traffic lights create stop-start queues. Roundabouts keep traffic flowing continuously. Replace your worst intersections with compact roundabouts and watch throughput jump 40-60%.
03 Public Transit Removes Cars
Every citizen on a bus, tram, or metro is one fewer car on your roads. Bus routes should connect residential areas to commercial and office zones. Metro lines handle cross-city trips.
The best cities move 30-50% of citizens by transit. Start buses early, add metro once population exceeds 30k.
04 Cargo and Industrial Traffic
Industry generates massive truck traffic. Keep industrial zones near highway exits with dedicated cargo routes. Cargo trains and cargo harbors remove thousands of trucks from roads.
05 Common Mistakes
- Connecting every road to every other road — fewer intersections is better
- Using the same road type everywhere
- Placing services on main arterials (ambulances and garbage trucks cause jams)
- Not using one-way road pairs for heavy corridors
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