Players of Cities: Skylines 2 have plenty of tools and features they can use to control the flow of traffic. This includes road sizes, intersection replacements, mass transit, and pedestrian paths. Pedestrian paths are particularly valuable because they encourage citizens to walk to their destinations instead of putting any vehicles on the road.
The biggest issue with pedestrian paths is that Cities: Skylines 2 hides them away in the landscaping tool, where players are less likely to find them. However, every player should find them and put them to use, because they can be serious game changers.
How to Place a Pedestrian Path
In the landscaping tool, choose the last tab to start building pavement paths. These paths unlock at the same time as the landscaping tool itself, with no production points necessary. These paths support pedestrians only, unlike the pedestrian roads which allow service vehicles and the occasional rule-breaking driver.
Pedestrian paths are completely separate from road networks, and in fact players may have to remove a paved path if they want to expand or otherwise replace a road. This means they also don't carry power, water, or sewage lines the way roads do. However, pedestrian paths can connect to sidewalks, and when they do pedestrians can use them to cross from one sidewalk to another.
Paved paths can't cross road intersections, roundabouts, or dead ends. Players can connect these features together using paths, but they must stop the path next to the intersection without overlapping it. The game will automatically fill the remaining distance with a bit of extra pavement.
On the other hand, pedestrian paths can go straight across the middle of a road. Doing so will create a pedestrian crosswalk, and on medium and large roads this adds a special stoplight for the crossing. Players can remove this light or add one to a small road by unlocking Advanced Road Services.
How to Build a Pedestrian Overpass
If players don't want to clog up the roads with yet another intersection, they can build a pedestrian overpass or underpass using the pavement path tool. This tool features all the same modes as regular roads, including the ability to raise and lower the path's height. This means players can build overpasses that let pedestrians cross a busy street without having to stop for traffic.
Something to keep in mind is that a pedestrian overpass (like most other overpasses) can have collision issues with the street beneath it. Players can minimize this problem by building the overpass bridge first, then the ramps that lead up to it, and then the paths that lead to the ramps.
The pavement path tab also has a few special bridge types, like a suspension bridge and a covered bridge. These bridges are purely cosmetic, and players don't need to choose one to build a pedestrian bridge.
By using pedestrian paths extensively, players can afford to build roads that approach each other without touching, and then building a path to complete the connection. This encourages citizens to walk instead of drive, and it helps players funnel traffic to the wide roads that can handle it.
Cities: Skylines 2 is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.