In existing suburban towns and residential developments, the general street pattern is already largely set. If there does not already exist a desirable degree of connectivity in these areas, it is important that critical street extensions be provided to better connect these areas with the surrounding roadway network. The purpose of this is to prevent local traffic from having to be funneled onto only a few overburdened thoroughfares.

New connections can be configured such that they do not offer straight convenient routes to regional travelers but rather require numerous turns and stops, thus discouraging “cut-through” traffic. Such turns and stops are relatively insignificant to local residents embarking upon short local trips of a few miles, but add up to considerable time losses for regional commuters traveling, say, ten miles or more. Traffic calming measures can further discourage the use of neighborhood streets as cut-through routes, while still allowing them to efficiently serve local residents.