I'm sure we'll build out in that direction eventually. But it sort of makes sense that everybody took the open area around the core of town (exchange, "central park," the post office?) first. Now that that's pretty much used up, I'm sure the town will expand both north to the rail line and south toward the lighthouse.
I actually really like how the town is progressing so far. It feels like it's growing in a nicely organic way, kind of like Bridgeport did. Terra Nova had some really cool structures — I heart the old train station — but there was a lot of space in between them, too. Terra Nova felt like a loose assortment of buildings, whereas Cactuarville is feeling more like a
town. I like how structures are popping up more spontaneously, like the boathouse. So I wouldn't worry about the city not growing out in that direction, t. I'm sure the view from SpecMode's treehouse will continue to get cooler and cooler