Larkspur

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Larkspur
Larkspur-hall-thanks-square2.png
Larkspur City Hall with a view of Thanksgiving Square to the right.
Flag of Larkspur.png
Flag of Larkspur
Officials
MayorVickiposa
Deputy MayorEchohue
Town recognition
RankPremier
Date foundedSeptember 11, 2018
Date recognized as CouncillorDecember 9, 2018
Geography
Town hall coordinates-8403, -8924
WorldNew World
Ward(s)Ward 8
Ward 9
Post code(s) LA8 
Transit
MRT NW22  Larkspur - Downtown
 NW21  Larkspur - Northmont
Road connectionsA92
B820
B846
Air facilitiesLarkspur Frankford Airfield
Larkspur Lilyflower International Airport
Local transitLarkspur Trolley

Larkspur is a Premier city on the New World straddling the border between Ward 8 and Ward 9. It was founded at the site of the MRT Station NW22 on September 11th, 2018 by Vickiposa and promoted to Premier on January 12th, 2020. Their official news source is The Golden Arrow.

Reaching Here

Note: All of the following methods to reach Larkspur will be assumed to have started from Central City.

By Warp Rail

In order to access the Warp Rail networks from Central City, one should go to the Central City Warp Rail Station. The entrance is at Hoopsville Avenue and Oasis Street, right under the MRT Plains Line track between  P0  Central City — Eisitasi Avenue and  P1  Central City NE, and the main terminal is a great white structure easily visible from A0 and A1 on the north end of Central City. There is also a warp from the Welcome Center from Central Park.

The following companies serve both Central City and Larkspur:

IntraRail

Larkspur is directly connected to IntraRail's train network via Beckham Cross Station in the center of the city. One should take the following steps to get here:


Centralen (-> Segville International)

Republic Express (-> Rank Resort)

Upwester (-> Larkspur)


The trip takes 11 stops, costing $1.1 MRT total.

By Road

On April 19th, 2019, the A92 and A89 were completed between Larkspur and Snowtopic, connecting the city to the contiguous New World Highway System.

The quickest way taking A-roads from Central City:

  • Take the A8 west out of Central City (via West Inchmuir Street).
  • Take A8 Exit 13 in Whitechapel towards A89.
  • Follow that highway the entirety of its length until Snowtopic.
  • Staying in the left lane, take the A92 west towards Larkspur and Carnoustie.
  • Follow that highway for roughly 4 kilometers westward.
  • Exit at Exits 46, 45, 44, 42, or 41 to go into Larkspur. (Exit 44 to Downtown).

This trip takes roughly 15 minutes.

By MRT Rail

There are two viable options using MRT Rail the entire way:

Arctic Line (39 stations, 1 transfer):

  • Board the Arctic line in Central City, outward.
  • Take it all the way to  A31  Snowtopic Industrial, the sole Northern Line transfer.
  • Transfer to the Northern line towards NW26.
  • Ride the train westbound for 8 stations until you reach Downtown Larkspur. (7 for Northmont)

Taiga Line (52 stations, 1 transfer):

  • Board the Taiga line in Central City, outward.
  • Take it all the way to  T49  Borealia, the first Northern Line Transfer.
  • Transfer to the Northern line towards Titsensaki.
  • Ride the train eastbound for 3 stations until you reach Downtown Larkspur. (4 for Northmont)


However, if warps are allowed in this case, then the quickest way to reach Larkspur would be the premier warp in the welcome center.


Transit

MRT Rail

Site of NW22, near the intersection of Astoria Ave. and Zephyr Street.

Larkspur was built upon and continues to be served by the MRT Northern Line, the relevant section of which was built by AP_Red, using MRT v5 technology. Larkspur currently has a four adjacent stops along the line, shown below. The closest connections along the line are the MRT Taiga Line and the MRT Arctic Line at Borealia and Snowtopic, respectively.

Interest in building an express shuttle between  NW22  and  T44  in Cattington has been expressed, but so far no plans have been made to ease the transfer.

MRT
Previous station Next station
 NW25  Borealia
towards Carnoustie
 NW24  Larkspur - LAR Airport
 NW23  Larkspur - Prescott Road
 NW22  Larkspur - Downtown
 NW21  Larkspur - Northmont
 NW20  Foobar
towards Titsensaki via Quiris

Larkspur Trolley

The Larkspur Trolley stopped at the bus terminal.

Almost immediately after becoming Councillor, the Larkspur Trolley was built connecting the southern portion of Timpani to the bus station. It is a short loop travelling along Beckham and Charlotte Streets. While it may be archaic and slightly unappealing appearance-wise, it is preserved due to its historical significance.


Status Code Station name Connections
Dynmap Green Flag.png LST 01 West End - Bus Transfer
Dynmap Green Flag.png LST 02 Beckham Cross - Thanksgiving
Dynmap Green Flag.png LST 03 Bruford - Beverly
Dynmap Green Flag.png LST 04 Fayette - Residence
Dynmap Green Flag.png LST 05 Beckham Cross - Viscount

Warp Rail

The Beckham Cross Warp Rail Station is located near the center of the city. The following companies serve Larkspur with their respective train lines:

IntraRail

IntraRail operates the Upwester to Larkspur, connecting it to the rest of the server via Horizon Airport. This was Larkspur's first formal link to the rest of the world besides the MRT, and was authorized and completed following the January 2019 GSM.

IntraRail Logo 2023.png
Previous station Next station
Terminus Larkspur - Lilyflower Int'l Airport
Larkspur - Beckham Cross
Snowtopic
towards Lanark/Konawa Horizon National Airport via Upwester

BluRail

BluRail extended their services to Larkspur in May 2019. Its own station near Violet Avenue and Larkspur Mills Road is slated to become a significant regional hub for the railway, but currently only the BluRail1-01.png and BluRail1X-01.png services from Tranquil Forest serve the city, which terminate here. The following is a list of all active and (publicly) planned BluRail services:

BluRailLogo-01.png
Previous station Next station
BluRail1-01.png Spruce Valley towards Tranquil Forest
BluRail1X-01.png Spruce Valley towards Tranquil Forest
Larkspur BluRail Station BluRail1-01.png LAR Airport towards Rank Resort (planned)
BluRail1X-01.png Norwest towards Rank Resort (planned)
BluRailBW-01.png Borealia towards Birchwood (planned)
BluRailLS-01.png Snowtopic (planned)
BluRailVC-01.png Cattington towards Birchwood (planned)

PMW Commuter

PMW Commuter
Previous station Next station
Terminus Larkspur - LAR Airport
Larkspur
Larkspur - Northmont
Spruce Valley
towards PMW City WRA Station via Northwest Crossline

SEAT

SEAT Logo.png
Previous station Next station
Frostbite
via Savagebite
Larkspur - LAR Airport
Willow
towards Savage City via Savagebite

RaiLinQ

RaiLinQ extended their services to Larkspur on the 2nd of May 2021. The primary station for RaiLinQ in Larkspur is located at Larkspur Lilyflower airport. Larkspur also has two secondary RaiLinQ stations. The first is Larkspur Resort at Larkspur Clatsop Golfing Resort and the second is Larkspur Marshall Arena at the Marshall Arena.

RaiLinQ logo.png
Previous station Next station
   IC 0700   Far North Line 
Wazamawazi Hiranomachi
Towards Kanterlyn
   ST 1700   Far North Line 
Vegeta Junction
Towards Wazamawazi
   ST 6900   The Meow Branch 
Larkspur Resort
Towards Cattington
Larkspur Lilyflower Station -
RaiLinQ logo.png
Previous station Next station
   ST 6900   The Meow Branch 
Larkspur Lilyflower
Towards Larkspur
Larkspur Resort Station    ST 6900   The Meow Branch 
Cattington
Towards Cattington

Planned Services

Several services have expressed interest into serving the Larkspur area.

Air

The City of Larkspur currently operates two airports:

  • The senator-size airfield Larkspur Frankford Airfield (IATA: LFA), located on the east side of Larkspur near  NW21  Larkspur - Northmont, with relatively rudimentary services and a paltry 12 small gates that nonetheless serve many destinations across 9 different airlines. It was constructed during early February 2019. LARLAT operates small routes to large airports from here.
  • The large governor airport Larkspur Lilyflower International Airport (IATA: LAR), located on the west side of Larkspur, directly served by  NW24  Larkspur - LAR Airport. It is a world-class air facility with a full suite of check-in gates, lounges, and more. It has 14 medium gates, 72 small gates, and 42 helipads with the full capacity to serve destinations all over the world via its two long runways. LARLAT prefers to use its medium gates here as its main flights to major destinations while its small gates connect various small airfields to Larkspur to connect to larger flights

Neighborhoods

There are many different neighborhoods scattered throughout the city. Many residential neighborhoods use one or a few similar buildings to fill itself out, while other areas, such as commercial and industrial areas, tend to be more diverse. The neighborhoods are listed alphabetically.

Timpani (Downtown)

An aerial overview of Larkspur's downtown.

Historic Downtown Larkspur, also known as Timpani, composes the original 16 blocks where Larkspur was founded and has since expanded to include various adjacent areas. The roads bounding the conventional borders of Timpani include West End Avenue to the west, Charlotte Street to the south, Fayette Avenue to the east, and Zephyr Street to the north. In addition, the south flank of the MRT Northern Line adjacent to this region are also included within Timpani due to the proximity, practicality, and shared building restrictions--but are not included in the block model.

Timpani includes some of the most notable structures, such as City Hall, Beckham Cross Rail Station, the Larkspur Windmill, the North Star Ferris Wheel, the Post Office, the  NW22  MRT Station, and various buisnesses, such as the first Purple Pidgeon.

Allen Estates

A view overhead, looking from the north

This is the oldest of the residential neighborhoods, built very early in the city's history. This neighborhood is located near the geographic center of the city, on the south side of West Mallory Road between Pacific Avenue and Violet Avenue. It is somewhat of a gated community geared towards richer residents, with a wall on all four sides separating it from the surrounding area (which is highly commercial).

There are 3 models of homes, each with a total of 5 different colors, for 15 houses total. They are meant to be compact in structure and modern in design, with 1 bedroom and no bathrooms per house. The area in the middle has a pool and 3 plots for custom-built houses in the middle, which were never built upon since its construction, hence why they were discluded from future neighborhoods.

This neighborhood is notable as it later inspired a neighborhood in southern Carnoustie, built primarily by Johngi.

Chapel Hill

A view of a street from Cianwood Drive

This is a higher-density, lower-income apartment complex located just east of the high school along Cianwood Drive by the local MRT line. This neighborhood has been criticized for its lack of variety, having only a single building model with no color variation. Each building has 6 single-room units which are fully-furnished except for beds due to an error in construction.

This neighborhood is infamous from high amounts of light and noise pollution from the nearby Larkspur Bypass and lacks sufficient noise barriers unlike the Upstate Estates, which were sacrificed for an overlook of Whitlea Creek which borders the neighborhood on the same side as the Larkspur Bypass.

Chapel hill is a misnomer, as there has never been a chapel in the entire city, let alone the area.

Emerald Village

A view of Emerald Village from the northeast.

This is a relatively new, low-density but high-quality neighborhood built between Larkspur Mills Road, Vaughan Avenue, Dunkirk Boulevard, and Violet Avenue in the central-west part of the city. It is geographically disparate due to having to go around Emerald Pond, which dominates the center of the neighborhood. Streets include Birchwood Drive, Emerald Drive, and White Rock Drive.

There are three models of house, with 1-3 stories, each with one bedroom (except the two-story model, which has two bedrooms). There are no color variations. All houses are equipped with a living room, kitchen, and dining area. There are no bathrooms.

The neighborhood and pond is named after the nearby Emerald Pagoda, which in turn was named due to being the birthstone of May, the beginning of which month the temple was built.

Lincoln Hill

A bend in the Lincoln Hill road featuring several houses

Lincoln Hill is likely the most famous of Larkspur's pure-residential neighborhoods, built on the south side of town overlooking B846 (Larkspur Mills Road). The neighborhood is accessible from Pacific Avenue, right across the street from the BluRail station.

Similar to Chapel Hill, there is a single model of house (built in a similar style to a log cabin) and no color variation, however due to the buildings' low stature and the presence of the mega taiga the terraforming easily covers this up. Each house, fully-furnished, only features a single bedroom and no bathrooms, but despite this they have been praised due to the lovely outside atmosphere and the homely interiors. The deputy mayor, Echohue, has a residence here.

The neighborhood is also well-known for its clean and natural air among Larkspur neighborhoods.

Also, due to the lack of road markings and variable terrain, the max speed limit is 30 KM/H (20 MPH).

Northmont

A view of Northmont from above B820 (Magellan Parkway), with the airfield in the top left.

Northmont is probably the most notable neighborhood in the eastern part of town, and the home of  NW21 . It is very close to Larkspur Frankford Airfield. Is is notable for being a former town in its own right, owned by Frogs4Life, prior to being purchased by the city in December 2018. The buildings here are fairly evenly split between buildings that predate the annexation and buildings built after.

There are quite a number of notable buildings here, such as the house used in Larkspur's entry of MRTvision Screenshot Contest 3, Geometry Row (a group of houses modeled after geometric shapes), the city's Snow Yard, and Larkspur's branch of General Motors.

The town is linked to the warp rail system via PMWC's station in the area.

Upstate Estates

A group of houses looking down Albany Drive

Upstate Estates is an upscale medium-density residential neighborhood, between Mallory and the A92 and between B846 and the Larkspur Bypass. It is very close to the High School and a branch of the urban fuel supply chain.

The houses here have one model which is two-story with a moderate amount of floor space, though it can feel cramped. Each house is fully-furnished and has two bedrooms and no bathrooms. The facades are recolored for every variety of terracotta available for variety amongst the otherwise identical houses.

To fit with the name, all the streets (besides Cianwood Drive) are named after towns and cities in Upstate New York in the United States. In addition, there is a tunnel under the Larkspur Bypass (completely avoiding any interaction with it) to the industrial part of town, near the Bavarian Ice Company. The standard speed limit is 40 KM/H (25 MPH).

Natural Geography

Topography

The most updated street map of the city. *HIGHLY OUTDATED*

Larkspur was founded within the Transitional Taiga between the Tundra and Megataiga that together dominate central Ward 8 along the western part of the MRT Northern Line at station NW22.The natural landscape is moderately rugged with the lowest elevations in the north and west and rising in the south and east, but peaks hardly surpass 40 meters above sea level.

Adjacent municipalities include Cattington to the southwest, Chillington to the west, and Spruce Valley to the southeast. The northward direction remains unincorporated and relatively open for future expansion.

Local bodies of water include Whitlea Creek and Genesis Pond.

Climate

Larkspur has a humid continental climate. Summer lasts from early June to late August, and is mild and somewhat dry, though the area is prone to occasional dry spells as well as severe weather. Notably, a tornado comes within warning distance of the Larkspur area about once every 8-9 years, usually in July.

Winters are known to be long and harsh, albeit not as harsh as some places farther north and west, such as Borealia. The area recieves on average about 1.3 meters of snow annually, though this can largely vary from year to year as the occasional blizzard does occur. Winter tends to last from mid October to late April, during which there tends to be an average period of about 25 days per year where the weather does not go above freezing, usually in December or January.

Climate data for Larkspur (Frankford Airfield) (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high humidex 8.3 11.5 21.4 28.1 31.5 33.9 40.6 37.4 32.0 20.9 16.8 14.0 40.6
Record high °C (°F) 11.5
(52.7)
14.4
(57.9)
21.8
(71.2)
29.9
(85.8)
32.4
(90.3)
35.0
(95.0)
34.5
(94.1)
33.3
(91.9)
31.8
(89.2)
26.4
(79.5)
21.2
(70.2)
14.6
(58.3)
35.0
(95.0)
Average high °C (°F) −8.2
(17.2)
−4.8
(23.4)
−0.1
(31.8)
8.9
(48.0)
15.4
(59.7)
18.8
(65.8)
20.9
(69.6)
20.3
(68.5)
14.9
(58.8)
8.1
(46.6)
−2.3
(27.9)
−6.9
(19.6)
7.1
(44.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) −12.7
(9.1)
−9.8
(14.4)
−4.7
(23.5)
3.1
(37.6)
9.3
(48.7)
13.2
(55.8)
15.5
(59.9)
14.7
(58.5)
9.2
(48.6)
2.9
(37.2)
−6.3
(20.7)
−11.0
(12.2)
2.0
(35.5)
Average low °C (°F) −17.0
(1.4)
−14.8
(5.4)
−9.5
(14.9)
−2.8
(27.0)
3.1
(37.6)
7.6
(45.7)
10.1
(50.2)
9.1
(48.4)
3.6
(38.5)
−2.5
(27.5)
−10.5
(13.1)
−15.3
(4.5)
−3.2
(26.2)
Record low °C (°F) −51.7
(−61.1)
−51.9
(−61.4)
−42.2
(−44.0)
−24.4
(−11.9)
−14.5
(5.9)
−6.2
(20.8)
−4.0
(24.8)
−5.6
(21.9)
−14.0
(6.8)
−28.4
(−19.1)
−44.5
(−48.1)
−50.6
(−59.1)
−51.9
(−61.4)
Record low wind chill −54.8 −53.1 −46.5 −29.3 −15.2 −2.8 −1.4 −1.9 −14.4 −30.1 −48.3 −52.9 −54.8
Average precipitation cm (inches) 26.3
(10.4)
14.1
(5.6)
18.0
(7.1)
17.9
(7.0)
9.7
(3.8)
8.0
(3.1)
9.7
(3.8)
6.4
(2.5)
5.8
(2.3)
14.8
(5.8)
20.5
(8.1)
17.8
(7.0)
169
(66.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 1.5
(0.06)
1.0
(0.04)
1.4
(0.06)
15.5
(0.61)
42.7
(1.68)
80.3
(3.16)
97.1
(3.82)
64.1
(2.52)
44.8
(1.76)
22.5
(0.89)
2.0
(0.08)
0.9
(0.04)
373.8
(14.72)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 26.1
(10.3)
14.0
(5.5)
17.9
(7.0)
16.3
(6.4)
5.4
(2.1)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
1.3
(0.5)
12.5
(4.9)
20.3
(8.0)
17.7
(7.0)
131.5
(51.7)
Average precipitation days 12.3 8.8 9.5 10.6 12.0 14.7 15.0 11.6 9.9 9.1 10.1 10.6 134.2
Average rainy days 1.3 0.9 1.7 6.3 10.8 14.7 15.0 11.6 9.8 5.7 1.7 0.8 80.3
Average snowy days 11.0 7.9 7.8 4.3 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 3.4 8.4 9.8 53.9
Average relative humidity (%) 66 62 57 44 41 49 54 52 51 51 66 67 55
Mean monthly Sunshine hours 100.3 121.2 175.8 243.7 279.4 285.3 307.0 281.8 192.1 170.3 97.9 84.0 2,338.8
Source: Northwest Gamma Atmospheric Agency

Meta History

Pre-Founding (Nov 2016 - Sept 2018)

While Larkspur was part of original Gamma release of the New World, the site was largely ignored until after Frumple’s 2016 Epsilon server update which expanded the size of the New World dramatically into its current state. Plans were put into motion by the admins to expand the MRT rail system to incorporate this new land. Included among the plans were the construction of a new MRT Northern Line and the expansion of the preexisting MRT Taiga Line to serve the outer regions of the expanded Ward 8. Once they were completed sites where new stations lay were prospected and typically acquired by many members seeking either sites to build new projects or to serve as bargaining chips to trade with other players. Regardless of purpose, ModernArt claimed the land around the station NW22 under the town of Berlin (later transferring it to frogggggg). A small dock on Genesis Pond on the north side of the station and a small library (known as “Munich Library”) on the south were both constructed in this period, however the site soon fell into neglect and had been left abandoned and without a de-facto owner since well before the turning of 2018.

Founding and Establishment of Larkspur (Sept 2018 - Oct 2018)

Future founder Vickiposa stumbled on the MRT website online sometime on September 9th, 2018 due to a fluke google search seeking ways to improve the efficiency of rail transport in single player. That evening she decided to log on as a guest and explore the map as it existed at the time. She soon became deeply interested in full MRT membership and she soon sought a site at neighboring an MRT station in order to establish a settlement. She was disappointed to find out that there was very few stations that were both unclaimed and suitable for building but she soon found promise at a station laying at the crossroads of the tundra and the great taiga forests. After discussing with the mods, Vickiposa was able to get previous claims on the area nullified due to inactivity and established a town she called Larkspur, naming it after a flower.

After gaining Member, she went to work. Over the next few days, she built the starting grid of the Timpani district and built the brick building (Moresby's Conveniences) and the Yellow Building (Munich Cafe and Snack Bar) in order to fulfill her requirements to be promoted to citizen rank. Notably on the first day of her membership, she built Thanksgiving Square as a way to thank everyone for their help. After this, she built the City Hall to give the town a central nucleus. Businesses were founded along Astoria Avenue to accommodate outside builds. Planning of B846 began as a connection to Cattington, and was approved at that month's GSM on the 29th. Throughout the rest of September, she began to fill out Timpani and built roads to tie the town together, and started to climb the ranks in order to get the town recognized.

Hiatus and Later Expansion (Nov 2018 - Dec 2018)

The Larkspur flag is flown over the decrepit and now defunct town of Northmont for the first time.

Later in October, November, and into early December 2018, Vickiposa spent little time on the server (mostly on for the ongoing Survivor: Utara) due to increasing demands that college presented, and other games she was playing at the time took up a lot of other time. However, as November turned into December, less demand meant she could focus on MRT more. It was at this time Larkspur finally gained Councillor, and began to fully fill out Timpani. Larkspur's first public transport, the Larkspur Trolley, was built at this time, and the Viscount Department Store soon followed.

While building the library in anticipation for becoming mayor, frogggggg came onto the server for a while, and, taking a valuable opportunity, Vickiposa decided to purchase his town of Northmont for $500 and subsequently annexed it into Larkspur proper. This transaction was made on December 20th, 2018, and while the annexation opened up huge opportunities to expand to the east, which was now relatively open, Vickiposa reasoned that this new territory was sprawled out in a way that it would present issues for attaining Senator in particular. Alas, there was celebration regardless.

On December 23rd, 2018, Larkspur was promoted to Mayor. On the same day, the MRT mini-golf building competition began, and so plans were laid out for Larkspur to contribute a course.

Larkspur's Golden Age (Jan 2019 - Present)

Throughout the Winter Break of 2018-19, the city entered a period of rapid development due to spare free time. This was the period that saw the final filling out of the Timpani district, integration of Northmont into the urban infrastructure, the building of Magellan Parkway and new businesses in Larkspur's east, and continued forging of connections. A92 was announced right out of the new year. Chillington was transferred to Vickiposa during this time, opening the doorway to expand west.

Shortly after the conclusion of winter break, Vickiposa declared her application for Senator rank, and built the Clatsop Golfing Resort as her entry into the mini-golf contest. Soon after the submission period for golf courses concluded (with Clatsop's easy course, the Bogey Hill, being the entry), on February 3rd, 2019, Larkspur gained Senator. Furthermore, later that day, after the February 2019 Rules Revamp ASM concluded that underground airport terminals would continue to be legal for the foreseeable future, Vickiposa began work on Larkspur Frankford Airfield, which was pasted in a couple days later. The competition was fierce for the 7 available gates for public release as Larkspur was starting to become one of the most popular rising cities in the world. Important cities such as Venceslo, Carnoustie, and Sunshine Coast (all premier candidates for the upcoming February 2019 GSM) established links to Larkspur in this competition. Furthermore the funds to the city and given gates to LARLAT Airways would help spur future expansion efforts.

Administration

Major Positions

Honorary Councillors

These positions have no real power, but these go to people that are known to have a significant historical impact on the city of Larkspur itself; The order of the following positions corresponds to the mayoral line of succession if all the major positions are unable to occupy the position.

  • ModernArt - For being the original occupier of NW22 (Berlin).
  • frogggggg - For being the original occupier of NW21 (Northmont).
  • Frumple - For being Frumple.

List of Franchises Built Here

(Note: not necessarily a thorough list.)

Gallery