Those boardwalks started as sidewalks, there was also a gap between the buildings and the sidewalks that I cut down. I think you are right, the gap does make less sense in a more western setting. That's why it is a WIP

As far as the color, what I wanted to do was to hit that with some effect that would variegate it more: brown it around the edges and here and there. The problem is that I need to transfer the finished map to another program (unless Illustrator can do that) which I will not do until everything else (like the boardwalks) is pretty much all done. Any suggestions on the best way to do that? I mean, other than just drawing it in with a dodge/burn.